Across the Bounds of Time
by brawlingwolf
Summary: Following long after the events of On the Wings of Light and Dark, Pit finds centuries of peace shattered by the roar of the Fell Dragon. With nowhere else to turn, he embarks on a journey to aid the humans in saving themselves from destruction, starting with joining forces with the princess of Ylisse and aiding her in her effort to alter the future. Major FE 13 spoilers, Lucit.
1. Prologue: Torn Apart

It had been just over a millennium since Nemo had brought himself into balance as the lord of the Underworld and the Oracle of Darkness. Over a thousand years had passed since the birth of his first child, a physical embodiment of the balance of Light and Darkness of the world named Remiel. Now, Remiel had grown into a fine and powerful prince of the Underworld, mastering the Light and Darkness within him as he kept them in order with each other, learning from his parents and the god of Light up in the heavens.

Nemo had guided his son proudly throughout the years, even clashed with him over the Celestial Balance, and Remiel had always proven to be in the right. Despite his own position, his pride in his child had always been stronger, and he agreed with the younger spirit's claims. But Remiel had now grown to be quite independent as he had been for several hundred years, watching over the world as one of its guardians and keeping the Celestial Balance in check. Though he would always be Nemo's son, it had become increasingly difficult for the Oracle of Darkness to see him as his child and not as an equal, a counterpart, an ally, a friend. He didn't mind this new relationship, but he couldn't help but miss being a true father.

It seemed Levica had agreed with his sentiments, and the two had dedicated themselves to creating and raising a new child, one who could also carry on their legacy and aid Remiel in his journey through time and across the world as he kept the peace. Even Remiel himself looked forward to the idea of having a younger sibling to look after.

Nemo's eyes sparkled with pride as he and his family welcomed the child, an infant son with a small, tousled patch of wet, silver hair like his father and sparkling green eyes like his mother. The lord of the Underworld could easily sense both Light and Darkness within him, but there was something different about him than his brother. Nemo could not place the cause, nor was he certain he wanted to know, but the boy seemed strong enough.

"I will assure that you have a safe and happy life," he said softly as he held the boy in his arms for the first time. Levica smiled, despite her pale and sweaty look from the stress of childbirth.

"What are we going to call him?" she asked weakly, and he turned to her once he had handed the child to Remiel.

"Hm…" He frowned for a moment. "I'm not sure. Rem? Any ideas?" But Remiel shook his head.

"I can't say I do, Father. But I'll think about it and let you know if I come up with anything."

"Very well." The lord of the Underworld turned back to his partner and kissed her forehead. "You look tired, love. Rest now, will you?" She smiled and reached her hand up, and he took hold of it in both of his. "I'll look after him. Don't worry." She nodded.

"That sounds just fine to me," she agreed, and a moment later, she fell asleep. Nemo turned around to find that his infant son had as well, and Remiel smiled softly at his new brother before returning him to their father. They left a moment later in hopes of letting Levica have a bit of peace.

"He's different from me," Remiel mumbled to his father as he followed him down the halls of the shrine within the City of Souls, where Nemo had long ago made his home. "I'm sure you sense that both Dark and Light are in him. But it's not like the balance that makes me who I am."

"What do you mean?" Nemo wondered as his infant son stirred gently in his arms.

"I mean they're not as… smooth? I don't really know how to put it," Remiel admitted. "I guess… Everyone says I take after Mother, right?" Nemo nodded. "I think he takes more after you. Father, you don't need me to remind you that your sense of the Celestial Balance is different from Mother's. Though you both wish to protect it, you would go to different lengths to do so. I think it's like that: Where I'm more like Mother, he'll be more like you." Nemo didn't reply, knowing all too well that he was referring to the battle with Pit over the existence of the world as they knew it. "…I apologize, Father. Perhaps that was better left unsaid."

"No, you're right," the Oracle sighed. "That's one way that your mother and I are vastly different. While she'll do anything to keep the peace, I'll readily fight for what I believe to be right. But so do you, do you not?"

"Yes, but that's not my point." An underlying tone of defense made its way into Remiel's voice. "I only fight when I deem it to be absolutely necessary, after weighing the options. And it's usually under you or Lord Pit."

"So my fighting wasn't necessary?" Nemo inquired. "I did what I thought was best, Remiel. And Pit still hasn't entirely proven me wrong. The humans still battle over pointless matters. They're ushering their own destruction."

"And yet they've managed to save themselves as well!" Remiel pointed out as they reached the infant's room, and Nemo placed the youth gently in his crib before the two left. "There are more of them that want peace and would fight for it than those who would destroy themselves." His tone was growing a bit louder, no longer fearing that he may wake up the infant.

"But there are still those that would," Nemo again pointed out. "And at this rate, there always will be."

"So you would punish them when most of them have done nothing wrong?!" Remiel demanded, and Nemo turned to face him.

"Who are you to judge my actions?" he retorted. "You resent me for them, don't you? You believe I was wrong, do you not?"

"You ask me how I can judge your actions," Remiel replied. "How can you judge the humans? What gives that right? How could you just come in and take over the Underworld from Hades?!"

"I do not regret what I did back then!" Nemo growled. "The only thing I regret is contributing to Lady Palutena's death. That's it. If given the chance, I wouldn't do anything differently. You weren't even around back then. I don't expect you to understand."

"I understand that you were about to tip the Balance," Remiel said flatly. "Much as you thought you were protecting it, you-"

"I was not going to keep that power for myself," Nemo interrupted. "I would have restored the other Oracles and the gods as best I could, but with the plan of protecting the Balance. That was my intention and still is." Remiel glared at him with a furrowed brow, but held his ground. "You're ashamed of me, aren't you? You don't like being compared to me for what I did." He didn't immediately answer.

"No," the prince finally said shortly. "I don't. Because I don't want people to think I'm like the monster that nearly wiped out the world."

The words were like a knife in Nemo's heart. He stared at his son and swallowed back a lump in his throat.

"You…" he began, his voice almost inaudible. "You think I'm a monster?" The anger in Remiel's eyes flickered before fading and being replaced by realization and, moments later, regret.

"No, no! I… Father, you know I love and respect you. I just… No, you're not a monster. At least, not anymore. I'm proud now to be your son after everything you've done to help Lord Pit and protect the Balance." Despite his reassurance, Nemo's gaze still lost focus.

"So I'm not anymore, but I once was. And had I continued on that path, you wouldn't have been so proud."

"Father, I…" But it seemed Remiel was lost for words. "I don't mean that. I'm sorry I spoke out of line. Please, forgive me."

Nemo didn't immediately reply. But when he finally opened his mouth to do so, he stopped as a sound reached his ears. Alarm shot through him as he realized what it was: the sound of a crying infant. He hurried back to his newborn's chamber with a dumbfounded Remiel following close behind, and he shoved the door open quickly and glanced around wildly. The crib was empty, and neither his son nor the culprit were anywhere to be seen.

"Oh no…" Remiel choked. "What happened?" Nemo looked up to find a break in the ceiling that still smoldered with dying blue flame.

"Pandora!" He growled. "No… that evil little… How could she do this?"

"We can't let her get away," Remiel said quickly. "I'll find her. Don't worry." Nemo turned to him and hugged him quickly.

"Thank you. And, Rem, I'm sorry I lost my temper." Remiel shook his head and took on his own spirit-like form of Light and Darkness before he sped off through the hole and after Pandora.

It took him some time and tracking to finally find her near the entrance of the Underworld, searching through some of the crags and rocks nearby.

"_PANDORA!" _he shouted, catching her attention just as he slammed into her and knocked her down, reverting to his other state of being as light and darkness burst to life around him.

"And good evening to you too, Prince," she spat as she got up and brushed herself off. "To what do I owe this pleasant visit?"

"Where's my brother?!" he demanded, holding out his hand toward her. She stared at him quizzically.

"Levica gave birth, huh?" she shrugged. "Congratulations. But he went missing, eh? That's too bad."

"Don't play dumb with me. Where is he?!" She smiled at him knowingly, confirming their suspicions, but said nothing. "Damn it, Pandora, what did you do with him?"

"I don't have him," she replied bluntly. "But thanks for thinking of me." And before he could object, she disappeared in a burst of blue flame that mirrored the fire of anger within him. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down and combed through the rocks she'd been investigating earlier, but there was no sign of the child.

"Wonderful…" he mumbled and made his way back to the City of Souls, where he found his fretting parents awaiting his return. With a heavy heart, he broke the news to them, and Nemo vowed to never stop searching.


	2. Chapter I: Departure

**Author's Note: **For those of you who read the former teaser/chapter I had uploaded before, that's essentially what this is now. But I have made some changes and added a lot. So don't be too surprised if it sounds the same. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

A journey to the clouds and about fifty years later, the god of Light watched his fountain within his temple as he scanned the Overworld below with a heavy heart, contemplating his past in an attempt to save the future.

Centuries had passed since the day of his birth, of his death, of his rebirth, and he'd fought countless battles throughout those centuries. He had been human, angel, and god. He ruled the heavens and watched over the land below, keeping the peace as best he could as the years went by. He devoted his energy to assuring the Celestial Balance was not tipped one way or the other, and he'd been successful in recent decades. He watched as the humans grew and prospered, as new races appeared, as they gained new abilities and technologies, and sought to know more about themselves and the land around them. He and many others had lost their names to history, being referred to only as "the gods" without any actual identity.

But he didn't mind. Even if not specifically, they still looked to him for guidance. Sure, they still fought. Greed still found its way into their hearts, a lust for power guiding some of their actions. But, somehow, peace always managed to return without his getting involved directly. He continued his training along with his angels, always ready in case the world below needed him again. He vowed never to abandon them no matter what happened.

And, unfortunately, he knew he would always be needed as long as uncontrolled darkness existed in the world. The lord of the Underworld did not command all darkness, just as he did not command all light. Perhaps Medusa's hatred had been reborn in different forms over the centuries, threatening the humans and, sometimes, driving them into a bleak war that caused them to worry for their survival.

Yet they always triumphed somehow. A hero, a leader, would rise and defeat the coming darkness, sealing it away for some time. And when it finally escaped, another would come to defeat it once more. The humans were growing, learning, becoming stronger. They could hold their own.

Or so he thought.

It seemed darkness could grow, learn, become stronger as well. Its agents were becoming more cunning, learning new ways to outsmart those who lived in the light. And, perhaps, it had finally found its foothold to rise above those that oppressed it.

This god that ruled the heavens did not realize it until it was nearly too late.

Darkness had manifested itself in a fearsome, colossal dragon that was ready to destroy the humans and nearly all life from the world, and the remaining humans were only delaying their eventual deaths. How could he have let it come to this?

Simply put, he'd been worried about the lord of the Underworld. The apparent loss of his son had taken a toll on him, and he'd been acting awfully strange for nearly two decades. He rarely acknowledged the Skyworld leader's attempts to contact him, nor had he been able to speak to his partner or son. The heavens' ruler worried for them, hoped that this was just another issue of the lord of the Underworld dealing with a problem and not allowing anyone else to disturb him without it being something worse.

Perhaps, he pondered, it had something to do with that dragon, with the army of undead it summoned. And he had been so absorbed in his concern for the land of the dead and its leader that he'd found he had neglected the land of the living.

Maybe his faith in the humans had been too strong. He'd believed they would be able to stop the threat, even after the dragon's resurrection. But when he turned his attention back to them, he found that he'd been all too wrong. They were suffering, living in a hell on earth. And, to make matters worse, it seemed the lord of the Underworld was losing power and his son was quite seriously ill. The heavens' leader had no answers, only regret, concern, and guilt.

But it seemed one beacon of hope still survived in the world of the living, one who still brandished the legendary Blade of Light as a rallying point for her allies. However, as he observed her battles, he realized quickly that even her efforts would quickly come to be in vain. The death-bringing dragon was quickly closing in to finish off those that opposed him.

The humans could not save themselves this time. If they were to survive, they would need help. His help. But this would require more than just his interfering. He knew the entire situation would have to be handed with care. And he wanted to see one way or the other if the humans themselves could still be their own caretakers. But if they couldn't, then he would do everything he could to save them.

"I just hope it's not too late," Pit sighed as he turned his attention from the Overworld to Skyworld. His homeland was eerily calm and peaceful, given the bleak and dangerous situation on the earth below. He turned and pointed his staff toward the Gate, and it creaked open gently as he chose its destination. Unfortunately, his half-hope of leaving undetected was quickly dashed.

"_Just where do you think you're going?" _a rather sarcastic voice demanded from inside his head, and he chuckled a bit as he smiled slightly and turned toward the door of the chamber.

"Three, two, one…" As soon as he hit zero, a black-haired, red-eyed angel stormed in without so much as a notion of knocking, and another blue-eyed angel followed close behind with a Samurai Blade held tight.

"Hello, Kuro," Pit smiled. "Thanks for knocking." Kuro stared at his twin quizzically, and Pit sighed as he realized he wasn't leaving without an explanation.

"Well?" the red-eyed angel inquired, crossing his arms. "What are you doing?"

"Why the heck did you have to practice reading my mind?" Pit asked flatly, and Kuro snorted.

"I can't read your mind. You know that. I can just tell when you're about to do something stupid."

"Well, I wish you hadn't devoted so much time to practicing," Pit went on, and Kuro shrugged.

"I needed some way to pass the time. Being immortal gets boring after a while. It's not like I just developed it." True enough, it seemed he'd always had it. He'd known since he was created from the Mirror of Truth what his counterpart was up to, though Pit couldn't entirely say the same. He hadn't taken the time to really hone the ability until relatively recently, supposedly after getting bored of training Centurions and facing Ephraim in Light vs. Dark matches.

"Are you actually leaving?" Ephraim wondered, his blue eyes wary, and Pit nodded at his Captain.

"You both know that the Overworld is in a sorry state, ever since Viridi went to work creating those other humanoid races."

"What, like the dragons?" Kuro inquired. "Or those bunnies and cats and stuff? I'm still ticked that she modeled some of them after us."

"Whatever," Pit cut him off. "But yes, like the dragons or whatever she's calling them. They're in trouble. Been in trouble, and like a moron I haven't done anything to help them." He looked down as his Commander and Captain watched him through sympathetic eyes.

"Lord Pit, you've done plenty for the humans as it is," Ephraim reminded him. "They can't exactly get mad about this."

"That's not the point," Pit insisted. "I'm not worried about glory or praise or even them acknowledging what I've done. But I've made it my job to protect them. You both know that." He sighed. "So if I don't go now, then they won't have any chance to avoid being completely wiped out. I shouldn't have waited this long anyway. Damn it, what is Nemo doing down there?"

"Who knows?" Kuro huffed. "But if you're going, then I'm going with you."

"No, you're not," Pit all but ordered, earning a stare from his twin. "I need both of you here."

"But-"

"Kuro," Pit interrupted, silencing his darker counterpart. "I need a little insurance, okay? Look. If… if something happens to me, you'll be there to bring me back, right?" The irritation evaporated from Kuro's expression, and he uncrossed his arms.

"Do you really think it's that bad?" he asked in a quiet voice, and Pit nodded, to his angels' concerned.

"That stupid dragon is getting stronger by the day," he explained. "And… to tell the truth, I feel like I've been getting a little weaker too. This isn't just the humans. This is the Celestial Balance. Grima is threatening to completely destroy it. That's really all there is to it." The three remained silent for several moments before Kuro sighed and nodded.

"Fine," he acknowledged. "Then get out there and kick his scaly butt out of here for good before things get any worse. Ephraim and I will hold down the fort."

"Right," Ephraim agreed. "But, Lord Pit, please. You're like a father or a brother or something to me. Be careful." Pit smiled and dipped his head.

"Thank you, both of you." He walked over to them and stopped a pace away from his twin as he held up his forearm, and Kuro braced his against it as they grabbed each others' hands. "Knowing that you're here will give me at least some peace."

"It's not going to matter much if something happens to you," Kuro replied glumly. "Look, I know I can help get you back if something goes wrong. But do me a favor."

"What?"

"Don't let anything go wrong, or I'm plucking your wings bald when you get back!" Pit smiled and broke into laughter as he released Kuro's hand and took a step back.

"Duly noted," he said once he'd recovered himself. "Very well. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Good luck," Ephraim bade, and Pit nodded to him.

"You too. And Kuro, do me a favor and keep an eye on Nemo and Remiel. I'm willing to bet Grima is the reason they've been acting so strange."

"I will," Kuro agreed. "And I swear, if Nemo hurts you again, then I won't hold back." A shadow of grief briefly fell over Pit's heart as Kuro's words took him back to his battle for the world's existence with Nemo so long ago.

"Try to be nice," he urged. "Unless something really does happen that requires you to challenge him."

"I was kidding!" Kuro told him. "Mostly. Look, just go so you can get back, will you? The sooner, the better, right?"

"Right." Again, he nodded and started to turn away, though he stopped when Ephraim ran over to hug him.

"Just do us a favor and come back safe," he pleaded, and Pit smiled a little.

"I will, Ephy. You just wait and see." Ephraim stepped back and wiped his eye with a small nod of his own. "See you guys later. And I hope the Centurions don't give you any more issues than usual."

"We'll see," Kuro grumbled. "Maybe I'll take this opportunity to get them whipped into shape. And that may be literal."

"Whatever it takes!" Pit laughed as he approached the gate, letting his staff disappear in a brief streak of light as he imbued his wings with the Power of Flight. He turned back and waved briefly to his comrades before leaping out into the air as he spread his wings wide, bound for a certain castle below that was quickly falling to ruin.

"I hope I'm not too late," he mumbled as the wind whipped around him, rustling his brown hair. "I hope you're ready, Grima. I won't give up without a fight."


	3. Chapter II: Meeting

**Author's Note: **And now, finally, we start getting into the Fire Emblem side of this. I'm trying to avoid novelization as much as possible, but sometimes it just can't be avoided. So, in case you didn't heed the warning in the summary, MAJOR Awakening spoilers in this story. So beware.

* * *

In the world below, darkness had all but sapped the life from the Earth. Fires raged through towns and cities as the surviving humans cried out for help from each other and the gods, though hope was quickly growing frail and dying. Strange, undead creatures that had been dubbed "Risen" overtook the land and killed mercilessly under Grima's command. Being born of darkness, they were not killed easily, least of all destroyed for eternity. They slaughtered without hesitation and were growing stronger and more numerous by the day, no matter how many of their own were struck down.

The remnant armies of the old dynasts had gathered in one of the last few havens that they could find, but they knew all too well that it was only a matter of time before they lost. Still, they fought, hoping that somehow, they could overcome the death and destruction their world suffered under. And leading this united ragtag army was a young woman who bore both the blood and blade of the first Exalt, the Hero-King that was said to have defeated Grima over a thousand years previous. She was the princess of Ylisse and the last ray of hope that the humans had to cling to. In her father's death, she had vowed to never stop fighting, to continue to draw breath, to raise Falchion high and strike down the Risen.

And that is what she did now, even as her soldiers fought against the swarm of Risen within the castle they had taken shelter in. With Falchion in hand, she ran it through a Risen from behind as it attacked one of her comrades.

"I think the woman you're looking for," she said in a low voice, "is ME." She ripped Falchion through the monster and it dissipated quickly as she straightened up. "We can't let these things win. Now, grab a sword." She turned to the soldier with a grave expression on her pale face. "And fight!" The soldier nodded and hurried off, picking up a weapon that had been dropped by one of their fallen allies.

"Cousin!" She turned to find a dark-haired swordsman battling at the other side of the room. "They're too many of them. We must fall back and live to fight another day! I'll hold them off and allow you to escape."

"No, Owain," she replied as she dodged an axe coming at her and impaled the Risen it belonged to. "If we're pulling back, we're all going. I won't leave you behind to die!" She glanced around, sweat beading on her forehead. "Where's Morgan? We need a new plan, and we need it NOW." But the young tactician was nowhere to be seen, causing her no small amount of worry. She turned back around to face her cousin, but an ill feeling crept over as Falchion trembled in her grasp.

"Kyah!" A sudden blast of wind sent debris flying everywhere, and she stabbed Falchion into the ground in an attempt to keep from sailing off with it. The rubble began to clear, though dust was thick in the air. Her legs shaky, she got to her feet and glanced around with her heart pounding. The blast seemed to have knocked most of her allies out of sight and killed several others. She opened her mouth to call out for her cousin, but coughed in the dust.

"So ends the human race," a strange, dark, and sinister voice hissed, and she spun around wildly with Falchion at the ready with her heart beating rapidly like a caged bird in her chest. "The future is built upon the past…" the voice continued, and she turned to the now-open ruins of what used to be a wall. "But your kind shall never see it." Terror gripped her system as three glowing red eyes made themselves visible in the dust, and she knew at once what she was dealing with. Death had come in the form of the Fell Dragon. "Your mother and father… are DEAD, tiny one," he taunted, and she pointed Falchion at him in an attempt to seem brave. "And now…" The dragon's head became visible, impossibly large in the skies above as the dust finally began to settle. "It is your turn… to DIE!" He lunged at her, razor-sharp fangs bared, and she yelled out wordlessly as she readied Falchion.

But, as darkness nearly overtook her, a blast of light hit Grima's head and rocked him to the side. One of his fangs sliced against her arm and his jaw knocked her to the ground. And between that blow and her sheer shock and panic, she slipped into unconsciousness.

Grima shook his head and glanced around wildly himself for the source of such a powerful strike of pure light, and his six-eyed red gaze fell on a creature he had never seen before. It resembled a human male, but garbed itself in white robes with pure white wings on its back as it brandished a sharp, cobalt bow in one hand and propped the tiny human that bore Naga's mark in her eye in his free arm. Oddly, the bow disappeared from the strange one's grip and he hoisted the girl and Falchion up in his arms, spreading his wings before he took to the sky.

"What are you?!" the Fell Dragon demanded, and the strange one glared at him through icy blue eyes.

"A defender," it replied simply before turning and starting to fly off. Grima roared loudly and shot a dark blast from within its core, but the strange one dodged it and returned the attack with a blast of light of his own that disoriented the dragon. He shot another blast of breath forward, but the strange one again dodged it as a light shone from its wings and it sped off and out of sight in the dust. Frustration and anger boiled in the dragon's body.

"You were lucky, tiny one…" it growled. "But you will die just like your weak, pathetic father."

Elsewhere, Pit settled down in a nearby patch of trees and laid the princess down among the grass and set Falchion next to her. It was one of the few places he'd still seen any kind of life and vegetation, and it was surrounded by death in a few paces each direction. He could only imagine what Viridi had been doing to see this little place stay relatively untouched. He tilted his head as he watched her, confused. He'd been expecting some battle-hardened war maiden to be leading the charge. But this girl was little more than a child herself, maybe seventeen years old. She was surprisingly slender, but also full of life that he sensed in her.

He cut a strip of cloth from his tunic and wrapped it around the cut on her arm, then took a step back and summoned his staff. He hit the end of it against the ground near his feet and a light briefly enveloped him, causing his wings to disappear and leaving him in a black-and-white outfit that he'd deemed was a type of uniform that was primarily worn by archers in this land. Once he'd deemed himself presentable and looking as human as possible, he turned back to face her and sat down in the grass about two paces away. And he waited.

After some time, the princess stirred and, with a soft groan, opened her blue eyes. She sat up with a furrowed brow and squinted as she rubbed her head, then looked around in confusion at her whereabouts, her hand immediately grasping Falchion's handle. Finally, her gaze came to rest on him as he stood slowly. Not taking her guarded eyes off of him, she stood as well with Falchion held at her side.

"Don't worry," he smiled. "You're safe now."

"What?" She straightened up, but didn't take her eyes off him. "You… what happened to Grima?"

"I got you out of there," he shrugged. "Couldn't have the leader of the resistance against the Fell Dragon get eaten, right?" She still watched him, but the wariness in her eyes began to fade.

"You saved my life," she dipped her head. "And for that, you have my thanks. Though I do wonder how you possibly managed to avoid the Fell Dragon."

"I've got some tricks up my sleeves," he replied lightly. "And it's no trouble."

"Even so, thank you," she insisted. "I owe you my life." He shook his head.

"You don't have to thank me."

"But… Even so," she looked at Falchion, with a crestfallen face. "I cannot be so quick to abandon Ylisse! I have to go back to my friends and companions. I won't-"

"Whoa, slow down!" he interrupted with a laugh. "I understand. I won't keep you here or anything. And if you'll have me, then I'll gladly accompany you." She stared at him before a smile crossed her face.

"I suppose I'm in no place to deny a man who can stand up to Grima and live. Thank you for your kindness, sir. I…" she hesitated. "I am Marth." He crossed his arms and smiled softly.

"You don't have to hide from me, Princess Lucina." She seemed shocked by his words and that he knew her true name. "But if you would like me to refer to you by the name of the Hero-King, then I will do so." He felt strange speaking in such formalities, but figured it was for the best.

She certainly reminded him of the same Hero-King, Marth of Altea who had slew the Shadow Dragon and united his continent. Pit never met him, but certainly knew of his feats to defend life and light alike.

"I… I appreciate that," Lucina nodded. "And today's battle made me realize something. I need Naga's help. I need the help of the gods." That comment brought a smile to Pit's face. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he lied. "I'm sure the gods will be willing to help. But first, you should probably get back to your friends, right?"

"Right. Er… I don't believe you've told me your name."

"Oops!" he smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I am Pit."

"Pit?" she repeated, blinking. "I don't ever think I've heard a name like that before. Is it foreign?"

"Yep," he almost started laughing and had to fight hard to control it as he tried to think of an excuse. "You could say my parents were looking for something different. So 'Pit' it was."

"Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you, Pit. I hope I can rely on you to help us win this fight, no matter what it takes." She sheathed Falchion and looked at the sky. "Once we get back, I think it'll be time for us to head to Mount Prism. My brother, cousin, and I should be able to ask for Naga's aid. If they survived," she added with a mumble. He had a burning desire to ask who or what a "Naga" was, but decided it was probably better that he didn't.

"Then we'd best be getting back before they start worrying about you," he pointed out and bowed slightly. "After you, princess."

"Very well." She started walking in his indicated direction, and he followed close behind. "I don't know why, Pit, but I feel awfully inclined to trust you. There's something about you that… I don't know how to explain it. It's like light just shines in you." He chuckled.

"Thank you, milady. I'm glad you think so."

"Please," she turned her head to look at him while they walked. "Just call me Marth or Lucina." She paused and frowned. "And I suppose we should get you a weapon before we leave for Mount Prism. What do you usually use?"

"I'm an archer," he replied. "And quite a good shot, if I do say so myself." She nodded.

"Then I look forward to seeing your skill, Pit. Now, we'd best hurry before Grima catches up to us." He nodded as they both picked up their paces in the direction of a small, hidden base near Ylisstol.


	4. Chapter III: Exalted Blood

After a minor skirmish with a handful of Risen that Lucina had made short work of, she and Pit arrived at their base hidden in a few mountain caves near Ylisstol. It was lit by fires and torches, making Pit a slight bit uncomfortable even over a thousand and two hundred years after he had experienced losing his wings to fire. But he did his best not to let it show as he followed Lucina through the caverns where soldiers were sharpening weapons and working to better themselves. Some were treating their allies' injuries while others were keeping stock or cooking. But they all seemed entirely overwhelmed with relief at the sight of their leader's return.

"Oh, dear cousin!" Owain called as he hurried over with another young swordsman and a woman in heavy armor following. "How my sword hand boiled with the thought of vengeance when I realized you had not come back to us. Oh, how that dragon's fellblood would be spilled! What fury I would unleash upon him! He would rue the day he ever-"

"Yes, it's good to see you too, Owain," Lucina interrupted.

"Thanks for finally shutting him up," the other swordsman laughed. "He wouldn't stop going on about revenge and how his mighty sword hand would be the end of Grima and everything. It was getting annoying."

"Why, Inigo!" Owain scoffed. "Were you not shedding rivers of tears from your eyes when you realized she had not returned?" Inigo blushed and glared at his companion.

"The point is, you're back," the woman spoke up. "We cannot face Grima without you, Lucina."

"I know, Kjelle," Lucina dipped her head. "But I'm here, thanks to this young man." She stepped aside and gestured to Pit, who smiled sheepishly and waved.

"And who do we have here?" Inigo wondered.

"He saved you?" Owain asked with a tone of disbelief. "Tell me, sir! What great and destructive technique did you use to fend off the Fell Dragon? I see no weapon with you! That is simply unjust!"

"Barring his nonsense about weapons and souls and all that," Kjelle agreed, "Really. Who are you? How did you escape Grima?"

"If you'll let me speak," he began, "My name's Pit. And… well, I'm really hard to kill. Where a cat has the advantage of size, a mouse is smaller and harder to catch. It's like that." None of them seemed entirely convinced, but no one pushed the argument further.

"Anyway," Lucina continued, "Where's Morgan? Did he make it out of the battle?" None of her three companions looked too pleased. "Oh no. What happened?"

"Oh, no, that Grimleal is fine," Inigo scoffed. "Cynthia and Severa are standing guard outside his tent." Lucina scowled at him and rested one hand on her hip.

"Inigo, please! You know Morgan is my brother, and that means the blood of the Exalt runs through him. The mark on the back of his hand is proof enough, isn't it?"

"To think that one I share such Exalted blood with would betray us!" Owain argued. "He has disgraced us, Mother, Uncle Chrom, and the Hero-King himself!"

"Owain, ENOUGH!" Lucina ordered, and Pit shifted his weight uncomfortably from one leg to the other. "You speak of Morgan as if he still fights with Grima. He joined us willingly, and you know it. I believe that he had a good reason for joining with the Grimleal, whatever it may be. And I will not sit idly by as you speak ill of the Ylissean prince." She paused and sighed heavily. "Now, I need to go speak with him, if you'll be so kind as to excuse me." She turned around to face Pit. "Perhaps you should come with me for now so I don't have to listen to this nonsense."

"Very well," he nodded, and she hurried off without another word to her other companions, though Pit could hear them mumbling something he couldn't make out.

"I'm so sorry that you had to witness that," Lucina grumbled as he followed her. "It's true, my brother did fight under Grima's banner for some time. I don't know why he did, but he came back to us willingly and wants to fight."

"I believe just about anyone can find light in themselves," Pit smiled. "Even those who seem born of darkness."

"I want to believe that too," she agreed. "And I don't doubt Morgan's intentions. As for some of the other people out there, I'll never know." She sighed again as they came across a tent where two young women stood guard, one with a sword sheathed behind her back and the other holding a spear. "Pit, these two are Severa and Cynthia. Severa is scary when she's got a sword in her hand and in the right mood, and Cynthia is a Pegasus Knight."

_A what? _Pit wondered in his mind, but figured it was best not to ask.

"Impressive," he said instead.

"So who's this chump?" Severa wondered with a scowl. "New recruit?"

"Basically," Lucina confirmed.

"Wow!" Cynthia marveled. "I thought pretty much anyone who could fight was either already with us or…" her upbeat smile faded. "Or with those damned Grimleal."

"Yeah, speaking of damned Grimleal," Severa went on, "I'm gonna guess you're here to see that Fellblood?" Even in the short time he'd known her, Pit could already tell by how rigid she was that Lucina was fighting back an outburst of anger. "Seriously, Lucina, how could you so willingly let him into our camp? At least chain him up somewhere!"

"My brother is NOT a prisoner!" Lucina snapped. "And I would see him now. So both of you, find something useful to do rather than stand around for no reason." The girls looked at each other, and each seemed ready to argue, but Lucina would have none of it. "Go!" They both left at her order to different destinations, and she rested her hand over her nose and mouth for a moment.

"I wonder if something happened," Pit pondered. "Did they act like this before?"

"I knew they weren't exactly pleased about him coming," Lucina replied. "But no, they weren't this openly hostile. But… even if I didn't see the real effects of it, I know our last battle was more akin to a slaughter. Perhaps that has something to do with it." She shook her head. "Will you wait out here for me?"

"Sure, princess," he nodded. "Take your time."

"Thank you, Pit." With that, she drew back the front flap of the tent and entered, letting it fall behind her.

What she found inside was a boy, maybe three years her younger, sitting on a crate with his hands folded and his arms braced against his legs as he stared at the air in front of him. He had blue hair like her with bangs that framed his face and fell between his eyes, cut at the nape of his neck. He wore a dark coat trimmed in gold with a dark purple eye pattern on the sleeves and a cowl hanging down his back, though she couldn't recall ever seeing him wear it up. His brown-green eyes were dulled as he vacantly watched time go by, and she could see reflected in them the pain he felt. But at the sound of her entry, he looked up and stood.

"Sister…" He started to advance toward her, but stopped suddenly until she smiled and spread her arms. Almost at once, he seemed to transform into an entirely new person as he raced over and hugged her tightly. This was the Morgan only she was familiar with: a scared child trying to find his place in the world and facing adversity on all sides. She knew he tried to hide his pain from the others, but it seemed he'd given up on keeping it from her.

"It's okay, Morgan," she said softly. "Don't listen to them. They don't know what they're talking about."

"Yes, they do," he protested and stepped back. "Lucina, I… I never meant to betray Father or anything. But… I…" he looked down. "Grima said that if I behaved, then I would be able to see Mother again."

This was news to Lucina. She had always known that he had been closer to their mother than him, just as she had been to their father. She couldn't be angry for him wishing to find her again. But Grima himself had said that their mother was dead. Unless he was lying, which didn't surprise her… but she hadn't seen their mother for near ten years.

"Maybe it was just a stupid wish," Morgan sighed. "But I miss her, Lucina. I'm sure you do too." Lucina nodded. "I figured… maybe if I could find her and save her, then she could come back and help us. You know she was always an infinitely better tactician than I am. I hoped she would help you lead us to victory."

"I wouldn't want anything more," Lucina agreed. Morgan's grave expression worried her.

"But…" he choked, "Mother is gone, Sister. She's not coming back. And by the time I'd realized it, I didn't know what to do."

"So he was telling me the truth…" she lamented. "Mother really is dead…" Her brother hugged her again. "But I understand why you went with them. And you're back with us now, and that's all that matters."

"Except no one will give me a chance!" he cried. "No one follows the strategies I come up with, and then we get results like the last battle. When they'd told me you hadn't come back… Gods, Lucina, I felt like I was going to vomit! And they kept blaming me for not being there to help you, said my strategy was faulty and didn't work. But it doesn't help when they don't do what I tell them! And when I do try to help, Owain just gets mad at me and tells me to go away. Then he gets mad when I'm not there." He sat down again and looked at the ground. "What am I supposed to do to prove they can trust me if they won't give me a chance?" Lucina took the question as her chance to inform him of her plan.

"Perform the Awakening with me," she replied, and he looked up at her with a dumbfounded expression. She took his right hand in hers and pushed back his sleeve, revealing the same brand that she bore in her left eye. "You're Chrom's son and a descendant of the Hero-King, Morgan. Naga will respond to us if we call her together, and then she'll give us the power to stop Grima. Then no one will be able to claim you are loyal to the Fell Dragon." He still didn't seem entirely convinced, but nodded anyway as she released his hand.

"So you want to take the Emblem and head for Mount Prism, then," he realized.

"Yes. Do you think we can get there safely?" He frowned and turned to the crate, pulling it open and retrieving a map from inside. He spread it out overtop and studied it carefully.

"Perhaps," he replied. "But… it would take a very daring move and we would have to divide our army. The main part would have to draw off any of Grima's forces while a small team actually goes to Mount Prism. As soon as Naga is awakened, Grima will know about it, and it would help if we had a little time before he came crashing in to stop us." She looked at the map and frowned.

"How small a team are we talking about?" she asked, and he thought it over for a moment.

"Given the overall size of our army, probably… fifteen or so at the most." Lucina stared at him.

"You would have us go to Mount Prism with a measly FIFTEEN people?!" she demanded. "That would be suicide!"

"Lucina, listen to me," Morgan pleaded. "Grima WILL follow us. If he knows we're going to Mount Prism, then he'll do everything in his power to stop us. We can't have him catch on, and a small force won't draw his attention." Though she still had her doubts, he could see his logic- the same logic their mother was famous for using.

"…Very well," she surrendered. "Fifteen people, and they'll have to be our very best in case we do run into trouble. You, Owain, and I will have to be part of that team. Then Inigo, Severa, Cynthia, Kjelle, and Gerome… Laurent has a great knowledge of the Awakening itself, so we'll need him, and Nah's power would be indispensable." She smiled slightly and sighed. "We might as well take the usual team with us."

"So all of them, plus Yarne, Brady, and Noire?" Morgan guessed, and Lucina nodded. "Okay. Who else?"

"We'll figure it out after we explain the plan. And anyway, I think there's someone you should talk to." She gestured for him to follow her, and they both exited the tent. "Morgan, this is Pit." Pit smiled and dipped his head. "He's the one who saved me from Grima." Morgan stared at the new recruit.

"You faced Grima?" he asked in disbelief, and Pit nodded. "And you're still alive. AND you saved my sister." He took hold of Pit's hand and shook it vigorously. "I cannot, CANNOT, thank you enough, Pit." Pit shook his head after he reclaimed his hand.

"I'm just doing what needs to be done," he replied. "But it's a pleasure to meet you, Morgan." He fell silent as he watched the boy, surprised by how young he was. "If you don't mind…" he reached his hand out and lightly touched Morgan's chest. Morgan briefly squeaked in protest, but didn't withdraw. After a moment of focus, Pit smiled. "There's a bright light in you," he said. "Just like Lucina."

"Y-you can tell that?" Morgan asked. "How?"

"It's just part of my power, I guess," Pit replied cryptically as he thought over his options.

"Power?" Lucina echoed. "Pit… just who are you?" He turned to her and took a deep breath.

"Lucina, I came to help you. I have made it my duty to assure the humans survive and prosper. And I'm here to oversee your progress and see if you can stop Grima. But, rest assured, I will help you as long as you'll have me." The siblings watched him with blank, disbelieving stares.

"That's how you got away from Grima," Morgan realized, and lowered his voice. "You…You're not just some ragtag rebel."

"I can't say I am." Pit smiled mysteriously and turned his gaze to Lucina. "I'm here to help, princess. Give me a bow, and I'll gladly help you as best I can." After a moment, she nodded.

"I'm definitely taking you to Mount Prism," she decided. "Okay, Morgan. Let's go gather the troops and let them know the plan."


	5. Chapter IV: As All Else Fails

No one had been particularly fond of following Morgan's plan, but nor had they been able to come up with something better. Now, Lucina was leading the charge with Morgan and Owain at her sides, and Pit followed close behind. He had to admit he was incredibly out of touch with acting human, and tried his best to avoid extended conversation with anyone in an attempt not to seem like a complete fool who had no idea what he was talking about. There had been a sense of awe and respect in the crowd when Lucina had revealed the Fire Emblem, but he had little idea of what its significance was other than to apparently call forth a divine being named Naga. He'd never met any Naga in his many centuries of existence.

Their group was now comprised of fifteen individuals, including himself and the royals at the head. Also with them were Inigo, Severa, Cynthia, and Kjelle, and a handful of others he had yet to personally meet. What confused him were the man who appeared quite furry and even had rabbit ears, a creature named Yarne who was apparently part of a race called the Taguel, and the young girl with the long, pointed ears named Nah. He sensed a strange power within both of them and soon realized that they were both members of the various races that Viridi had created not long after Mastema's defeat. While it seemed they were respective of the earth, Pit couldn't help but think that her plan had, overall, backfired as Grima destroyed all life to be found.

Despite that, Mount Prism was quite beautiful. It was one of the few places where life still thrived, with rich green grasses growing and pure water flowing through it. With the sun still shining overhead, Pit strangely felt like he was back in Skyworld.

"Don't be fooled by this peace," Lucina warned the small group. "Morgan's plan seems to have worked so far. Grima hasn't followed us."

"Unless the Risen wait to ambush us within the shrine," Owain added darkly, and Morgan scowled at him.

"BUT," Lucina went on, ignoring her cousin, "The Fell Dragon will know as soon as we begin the Awakening and Naga emerges. From there, we'll have to move fast and be ready for anything."

"Yes, about that," a young man with dark hair and donning black armor approached her, and his wyvern growled gently to the side. "Lucina, I have something for you." He held out a beautifully crafted mask that resembled a butterfly, dark blue in color with golden swirls. She took it gently and looked from it to him as he donned a black mask of his own. "In case you ever find yourself needing to hide Lucina from the world." She smiled, though Pit saw traces of sorrow in her eyes.

"Thank you, Gerome," she dipped her head. "I'm sure it will come in handy in due time."

"It's no trouble, Lucina. Now, let's hurry before Grima finds us."

"Right." She turned her attention to the rest of the group. "Everyone, on your toes. I know not exactly what Naga will do, but we must have faith that she will guide us to light." Uneasy agreements sounded from the others around them, and Pit blinked as he tried not to let his shock show on his face.

"Seems Naga is trying to take my job," he mumbled inaudibly and followed the rest of the team across the grasses and through the trees until they reached some sort of shrine, and inside waited an altar.

"Be careful, all of you!" a girl named Noire cautioned as Lucina quickly conversed with a mage called Laurent.

"You're absolutely sure about that?" the princess was asking, and Laurent nodded.

"I researched the topic exhaustively," he confirmed. "Naga will test you against her flame. Should you prove to burn the brighter, she will come to you. But should you not, then it may very well kill you." Pit felt his heart thud in his chest. He never would have gone to such measures just to see if someone was worthy, nor would he even test such a thing if the humans were in danger. Whoever this Naga was, he certainly would have liked the chance to speak with her.

"Between the three of us, I have faith we will prove the stronger flame," Lucina vowed. "Morgan, Owain, are you ready?" Morgan nodded.

"Well said, cousin!" Owain agreed. "Let us prove to the divine one that our ferocity and conviction cannot be extinguished!"

"Right." Lucina shook her head lightly and held the Fire Emblem up a bit. "I'd suggest that the rest of you stand back. Kjelle, Gerome, would you go stand guard?"

"Of course," Kjelle replied, and Gerome merely nodded before they both headed back to watch the entrance. Lucina took a deep breath and approached the altar with Morgan on her left and Owain to her right, and she offered up the Fire Emblem with her head bowed.

"Hear me, Naga!" she pleaded. "Here we stand, bearing proof of our sacred covenant. In the name of the Exalted blood that flows through my veins, I ask for the divine dragon's power! Baptize me in your fire, that I may become your true daughter!" Bright, green and white flames burst to life from the altar, leaving all three of them fighting to stay on their feet.

"Lucina!" Inigo called out. "Gods, are you all right?!"

"I… I'm fine!" Lucina replied. And as she spoke, a form emerged from the flames. It appeared to be female, translucent with a form-fitting dress on and a shawl around her arms that fluttered around her. She appeared to glow with otherworldly light, her long green hair shimmering and her soft eyes watching those that had called her within a gentle face. Pit found himself taken aback, and he had to consciously remind himself that this was not the former goddess of Light. This was not the departed Palutena.

"Be welcome, Awakener," Naga spoke, her voice echoing. "I have tested your heart and deemed you worthy. Though cleansed in my fire, your desire has proven to burn brighter."

"Divine Dragon Naga," Lucina began, "We stand before you as descendants of the Hero-King whom you granted your power to in an age past. We have need of your power to put an end to Grima and save the world from his destruction."

"Grima does not bear the power of creation or destruction," Naga replied. "Not on his own, and neither do I." She fell silent for a moment. "But with the aid of those who would follow him, he has ushered an era of darkness and despair. And in his wake, I have grown weak." Alarm was evident in the royals as they processed this news. "My children, you have come to me seeking the power to destroy Grima now. I cannot grant you such power."

"But… then what'll we do?!" Morgan asked, panicked. "Grima will destroy everything!"

"Peace, Fellblood," Naga went on. "Though Grima is far too powerful to be struck down now, there is another course of action that I can provide for you. You must go to the past in order to change the future. If Grima's resurrection is prevented, then he cannot bring the destruction you have witnessed."

"You… you will send us back in time?" Lucina asked hesitantly. But before Naga could answer, the shrine shook with the sound of the Fell Dragon's roar in the distance.

"Yes, and you must go immediately," Naga confirmed, and she held out her hand as a light sparkled around it. Behind them, a blue portal of sorts opened like a widened eye, with magic runes encircling it. "This is the last hope I can offer your kind. But rest assured, my children, you will not be without the blessing of the gods." Her gaze briefly rested on Pit, and he nodded ever so slightly in acknowledgment. "Now, hurry, before the Fell Dragon arrives. Make your preparations immediately and depart. But be warned, you may not so easily return as you leave."

"We understand," Lucina replied. "Thank you, Naga."

"And Morgan," Naga added, "The blood of the Exalt flows through you. Do not concern yourself with your former path. You, like the others that bear such blood, can bring about peace." Morgan bowed briefly.

"Thank you. I'll fight to see a brighter future." The roar shook the shrine again, and Naga faded from sight as Gerome and Kjelle came running in.

"We're out of time!" the knight huffed. "The Risen are approaching fast and Grima isn't far behind!"

"Then we'll make time," Lucina replied. "Everyone, prepare yourselves as best you can! I know not what awaits us when we arrive in the past." She turned to Owain. "Do you have a knife?" He nodded and unsheathed one from a scabbard hidden under his tunic. "Thank you." With that, she reached behind her and grabbed hold of the outermost layer of her hair, and quickly cut it short around the base of her neck.

"Everyone, get ready to fight!" she ordered. "I'll not have these creatures follow us!" While her companions readied their weapons and other means of attack, she hid the rest of her hair within the back of her clothing and donned the mask Gerome had given her before unsheathing Falchion. "Are we ready?"

"As ready as we're going to be!" a priest named Brady replied.

"Then all of you, hurry!" she snapped, and her companions began entering the portal and disappearing within just as the Risen broke through and the shrine began to cave in. Pit nocked an arrow to the bow he'd been given and released it, striking a brutish undead in the chest and knocking it back.

"Foolish humans," Grima's voice boomed, "No power of Naga can save you now." It paused as the Risen screeched and growled at Lucina and Morgan, and Pit hurried over to join them.

"What are you doing?!" Lucina demanded of him. "Go! Get moving!" He shook his head.

"I'm probably the best equipped to hold them off," he argued. "Get going. I'll be right on your tail." Even with the mask, she appeared to want to argue with him, but didn't get a chance as black flame swept through the shrine and sent the three to the ground.

"Morgan, you waste," Grima chastised. "You would rather ally yourself with these doomed, worthless weaklings? Come, embrace that which flows in your veins. Join with a god!"

"You're no god," Pit spat. "You're only an unstable creature who claws at power. But you could never face the gods themselves."

"I was not speaking to you!" Grima growled in an oddly human manner. "Come now, Morgan! Your sister has no chance." Lucina grit her teeth and held Falchion at the ready. "But you have potential, just like your mother." Morgan gripped his head, pain evident on his face. "Join me once more or face death!" With that, the young tactician cried out wordlessly to his sister's alarm.

"Morgan!" she called out. "Stay with me. We have to go!" He didn't reply.

"You're right, we do," Pit huffed, and shoved the boy back and through the gate. "We'll worry about him later. Go!" She hesitated, but nodded and ran after her brother with Pit on her heels. He turned and took a deep breath, then shot forth a blast of light that knocked the advancing Risen back, then entered the portal just as it closed behind him.

"OOF." He landed with a thud somewhere within a burning forest and heard the shouts of battle nearby, but decided he would catch up to them later as he found himself facing his own horde of Risen. Luckily, this bunch seemed weaker than those that had been hounding Lucina's companions, and he readied his bow as he made quick work of them.

"Lucina!" he called out. "Morgan? Anyone?" There was no answer, and he followed the sound of battle until he found her finishing off another Risen before it had a chance to kill her. "There you are." She looked up and briefly bit her lip.

"Hide," she said quickly. "This will be hard enough to explain with just one of us. We'll regroup in a moment." She had an oddly grim tone in her voice, and he took that as a sign not to argue with her. Instead, he headed back into the trees just as a group emerged from the other side of the clearing and approached her. There were two men and two women, from the looks of it, and three of them were heavily armed while one of the women held a staff.

"It seems all the creatures are vanquished," the oldest, a heavily armored man, said. "This young man took care of the others."

_Young man?_ Pit wondered before realizing he was referring to Lucina. She certainly looked to be able to pass off for a male with the mask and illusion of her short hair. She didn't respond to the knight.

"Um, I never got to thank you… for before. So… thank you. You were very brave," the woman with the staff praised.

"You saved my sister's life," the other, much younger, man agreed. "My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?" Again, Lucina hesitated.

"You may call me Marth," she finally replied, straining her voice to make it sound deeper.

"After the heroic king of old?" Chrom seemed surprised. "You certainly fight like a hero. Where did you learn your way with a sword?"

"I'm not here to talk about me," Lucina said bluntly. "This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude. You have been warned." Before they could ask any questions, she walked off into the woods with the staff-user calling after her. Once she reached the trees, Pit followed her in silence until they were a decent distance away from the group.

"Are you okay?" he wondered, but she didn't turn to face him. "Where is everyone?"

"I… do not know," she replied dully. "When I arrived, I saw Risen attacking, and… Ah, gods…" Pit approached her as she removed her mask.

"What's wrong?" he pressed, and she finally turned to him with watering eyes.

"That man, Chrom… He is my father. And that woman in the dark coat that was with him and Aunt Lissa… Her name is Rufure. And she's my mother." Her tears spilled over silently and she trembled as he, without really thinking about it, pulled her into a hug. "They're all dead in our time, Pit… I never thought I'd ever see them again. But they're here… Father still lives and fights."

"I don't know if this will help at all," Pit mumbled, "But I watched my father die. Someone who was supposed to be my ally betrayed me and took his life before I could stop her. Though I did end her life… nothing, not even time, makes up for losing your parents." She pulled back and looked into his eyes without a word. "Not even a thousand years." After a moment, she wiped her eyes against her sleeve and nodded with a heavy sigh.

"Then I'll look for a way to save their lives," she vowed and placed her mask over her eyes again. "And all the others that were taken." She paused in thought. "I would like to meet Khan Basilio. Even in these days, Ylisse is strapped for soldiers, which is why Father formed the Shepherds to defend the people from bandits. But they'll be going to war with Plegia, and they'll need help from a kingdom bursting with combat talent."

"And this Khan Basilio should be able to help?"

"If he does not, then Khan Flavia will give her support to Father. I only want to assure that, no matter what happens, Ylisse will receive the aid she needs. And, hopefully, along the way, we'll find some of our missing companions."

"Right," Pit nodded. "I'll stay at your side every step of the way. I promise. But you know more about what must happen than I do, so I'm yours to command."

"Thank you, Pit." She smiled and dipped her head.

"So… should I call you 'Marth' too for now?" he wondered.

"That would be preferable," she agreed. "Though I hope a day will come when I can take back the name 'Lucina.'"

"Me too, Marth. Me too."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Finally, I can stop the BS of the future for a while. And I should probably make a note that, as I've come up with in this particular case, Morgan's memory loss stemmed from the conflict of Naga's and Grima's blood in him. Just figured I should clarify that. And I should probably also clarify that if you're confused about Pit's story, I suggest reading the _On the Wings of Light and Dark _series that I've submitted. This follows a little over a thousand years after that.

Anyway, off to Regna Ferox next chapter. Yay for arena battles!


	6. Chapter V: Within the Arena's Walls

After a few days of travel and dodging the Longfort guards, Lucina and Pit reached Regna Ferox and made their way across the snowy plains to the west castle.

"R-Remind me again why we're doing this," Pit requested through chattering teeth. He'd never really gotten used to cold temperatures as he rarely had to visit places that featured them. He liked seeing snow as much as the next person, but preferred the warmth of summer when the hot air made it easier to fly.

"Father will be approaching Khan Flavia for aid," Lucina explained. "But Khan Basilio currently has full rule of Ferox. But Ferox holds a tournament every few years to establish who has full control, and Flavia will request that Father fight for her. If he wins, she'll become the head Khan, if you will, and can grant Ylisse the troops she needs."

"So… why are we going to see Khan Basilio, then?" Pit wondered as he rubbed his bare arm in an attempt to warm it. He found himself envying Lucina's long-sleeved turtleneck and cape and wished he had something else to keep him warm.

"In the chance that Father loses, then Flavia won't be able to support Ylisse. I want to see if I can represent Basilio in the tournament and secure that he would also provide aid for Ylisse. That way, no matter who wins, Ylisse will receive the help she so sorely needs."

"Ah," Pit nodded. "But what about Chrom? Wouldn't it be better if he had Ferox's support?"

"I considered that," Lucina acknowledged. "But I would sooner avoid being accused of throwing the match. And if Father cannot defeat me, then there is little else we can do to see Grima's resurrection averted. But I will control my attacks to make it a little easier for him."

"It's an interesting thought," Pit mused. "To think that we're actually in the past. How far back did we come, anyway?"  
"Um… judging from what is currently occurring, I would wager around nineteen years. Father and Mother haven't been married yet, and it was two years after their wedding that I was born." She frowned. "I don't even exist yet in this time. It's a bit odd to think of."

"You want to know what's even weirder?" he teased, and she turned to him as they continued walking through the deepening snow. "I DO exist. And I can only wonder what other-me thinks of that, if he- I- whatever- even found me yet." Thinking about it made his head hurt. "But, if I know myself as well as I think I do, than other-me probably knew about our arrival as soon as that portal-thing opened." He laughed. "I bet Kuro would be thrilled to suddenly find that there's two of me."

"Kuro?" Lucina repeated, and Pit smiled.

"My brother. We're basically twins, though he's got black hair and red eyes. And he's a lot more sarcastic and serious than I am."

"I'd like to meet him," she thought aloud as the west castle came into view. "I wonder where Morgan is…"

"I'm sure he's fine," he assured her. "He's a talented boy."

"But he seemed distressed when Grima was calling him," she pointed out. "In pain, even. I'm worried what foothold Grima may have found within him."

"I know of a being out somewhere in the world named Remiel," he told her. "He himself was born of Light and Darkness. He does not fight for one or the other, but rather the Celestial Balance that ties them together. He acts for what he believes to be right." Even behind her mask, he could tell she was staring at him.

"You truly aren't human," she acknowledged. "Are you?"

"No, but I once was," he replied. "My parents were human. But Destiny had another path for me that I couldn't avoid."

"I see," she nodded. "Then… what are you?" He laughed.

"You've got your secrets, _Marth, _and I'll keep mine." Again, she frowned, but it slowly became a smile.

"Fine, then. I suppose that's fair. Besides, we're about at the castle." Sure enough, they were basically on the west castle's doorstep.

"Halt!" A brutish guard flagged them over. "What business do you have with the West Khan?" Lucina cleared her throat and adjusted her voice.

"I would speak with him about the upcoming tournament," she replied. "I wish to represent him against Khan Flavia's champion." The guard blinked and exchanged a baffled look with his companion at the other side of the gate.

"Uh… Right. Follow me." He led the visiting duo inside and down the main corridor to a throne room. "Wait here, and I'll summon the Khan." With that, he left, and they stood their awkwardly before he returned with a middle-aged man wearing an eye-patch and a younger swordsman with a blunt and reserved expression.

"All right," the man asked in a deep voice. "Who the hell are you and what do you want?"

"Khan Basilio, I presume?" Lucina greeted and dipped her head. "I am Marth, and this is my… escort, Pit." Pit swallowed his amused grin and put on a nonchalant face as he bowed. "I have a proposal for you."

"Marth, huh? Ain't that the name of the Hero-King or something?" Basilio frowned. "So, what have you got that's worth my time?"

"I would ask to represent you in the upcoming tournament to defend your throne," Lucina went on. "In exchange, you will pledge military force to Ylisse and defend her from the evils that plague it." Basilio stared at her.

"Blunt man, aren't you?" he laughed. "But why the hell would I have you represent me? I've already got a champion." He gestured to the man accompanying him. "This guy here is Lon'qu. A terror with a sword. He'd been my man for years." Pit found himself hoping Lucina had a plan for this. She watched the swordsman from behind her mask.

"Then face me," she challenged. "When I strike you down, the West Khan will see that he has a stronger man at his service that will have an even better chance at defeating Khan Flavia's champions."

"Har har!" Basilio bellowed. "Seems you're well versed in Feroxi ways. Alright, Lon'qu, what do you think of this Marth?" Lon'qu frowned.

"It wouldn't be well of me to turn down a challenge, especially if it means stabbing someone." Pit blinked.

"Meaning, he accepts your challenge," Basilio decided. "Fine, you two. Get to it! Though, try to keep my floors clean. Whoever spills blood has to clean it up!" Pit stepped back to a short distance from Basilio's side as the two sword fighters drew their weapons and took up their positions. Lucina certainly had an interesting stance, held defensively and at the ready. She made the first move, speeding forth like the wind and striking Lon'qu in the side. Lon'qu grit his teeth and retaliated with his blade, but Lucina back-flipped and avoided it. She gathered her energy and struck hard and fast, knocking him back on his back, and Falchion was pointed at his throat before he could even start to struggle to get up.

"…Whoa," Basilio marveled. "Okay, Marth. You got my attention." She withdrew Falchion and sheathed it, and Lon'qu got back to his feet with a huff. "So you wanna represent me in the tournament?"

"If you pledge troops to Ylisse in return," Lucina replied. "Then I will fight under your banner against Khan Flavia's champions." Basilio crossed his arms and grinned.

"You got a deal. I'll provide Ylisse men against its enemies if you can trounce your opponent as well as you did Lon'qu. And you'll also have a few of my men in the tournament to keep that woman's dogs off your tail."

"I would ask to have Pit with me," Lucina requested. "But otherwise, I will do my best to work with your men."

"Good," Basilio nodded. "Then let's get going. I expect Flavia's men to be flat on the ground when you're done!"

"Are you ready for this?" Pit mumbled to his companion as they emerged into the arena. It was a relatively wide area, surrounded by cheering spectators that included Basilio and Lon'qu, and it could be assumed that East Khan Flavia was somewhere in the crowd as well.

"As ready as I will be," Lucina replied. "What about you? Be careful, will you?" He grinned and shrugged.

"You mean be careful not to wipe the floor with them? I'll try." He earned a soft smile from her before he headed to the side and took up his position, as had been discussed earlier. Sure enough, Chrom and his companions emerged from the opposite side of the arena, and it seemed he was mumbling something to the staff-user from before: Lissa, as Lucina had identified her. The woman in the dark coat, Rufure, was with them as well, along with a pair of knights on horseback and an archer.

"Marth!" Chrom called out. "One question, before we begin?" But Lucina did not reply, and Pit could see frustration on the Ylissean prince's face. "…Fine, then. Our swords can speak for us!" Both he and Lucina stepped forward to the center of the arena, and they drew their blades. Chrom seemed shocked at the sight of a blade identical to his own.

"Where did you get that?" he demanded, but Lucina remained stone silent. "There's no way…" And they began their battle, the two Falchions striking against each other and sending sparks flying as they attacked, dodged, and countered. "Tell me," Chrom huffed. "Who taught you to fight like that?" Lucina skidded back and leapt up, flipping in the air as she aimed for Chrom.

"My father!" she growled, barely missing him, and they faced each other with their swords at the ready once again before both lunged forward. She turned around and pointed her Falchion at him, and he stared at her a moment longer before retreating back.

"Marth is a gifted swordsman," Rufure noted. "And his men look capable as well. We should mind our distance." The Feroxi under Lucina's command quickly raced forward to attack as the crowd cheered them on, but they broke like waves against rocks. Pit had to admit, Ylisse's fighters- the Shepherds, as Lucina had called them- were not to be lightly trifled with.

"Hey, bowman!" He looked up to find a red-haired, female knight riding toward him with lance at the ready. "What's your deal? Too damn noble to put up a fight?"  
"The Feroxi are getting themselves slaughtered against you," he replied. "It's probably better I don't go in blindly, huh?"

"Like hell you are," she scoffed. "Come on! Fight me like a man!"

"Yeah," he mumbled, "But I'm not just a man." He rolled back and nocked an arrow, letting it fly almost immediately. It hit her in the shoulder and she gasped in pain, but again came after him with her lance.

"Hold on, Sully!" The other horseman rode in as well, and Pit smirked.

"Kuro would have loved this," he breathed and dodged the second rider's sword. Again, he shot forth an arrow, and it chipped the knight's green armor.

"Okay, now I'm mad!" Sully snapped, flipping her lance. "To hell with you!" And like some unseen force, her lance managed to strike him, sending him stumbling back. But he found himself relatively unharmed, and she stared at him. "Damn." He pulled back another arrow and aimed, and managed to hit her breastplate and crack it.

"Okay, time to retreat," the other knight huffed, and she nodded as they rode back. Pit looked over to find Chrom facing Lucina with Rufure supporting him.

"Who is your father?" he inquired with his sword held at the ready.

"I've said enough for one day, sir," she replied, and he frowned.

"Hmph," he grumbled. "Is that how it is? Lissa owes you her life, and for that you have my gratitude. But within these walls, I represent the East Khan and the interests of Ylisse. I can't promise to stay my blade, but I vow not to shame you." His words earned a smirk from his future daughter.

"Heh, never expected such youthful arrogance… We shall see who shames who!" Though she had her Falchion at the ready, Chrom proved to be quick enough to strike her before she could defend herself, and Rufure shot forth a crackling bolt of Thunder magic that knocked Lucina off her feet. But she flipped, to Pit's surprise, and steadied herself to counter Chrom and score a cut along his side. He grit his teeth and followed up with a strong blow from his Falchion, and it sent Lucina to the ground before she could recover.

"Impressive…" she huffed as she tried to force herself back up. "If not surprising…" With that, the match was called and Chrom named the victor, and Pit hurried over to help Lucina to her feet. They headed out of the arena before anyone could stop them, and he frowned as he observed her injuries.

"Sorry, I don't really know any healing spells or anything," he said, and she shook her head as she retrieved a flask of medicine.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Pit," she replied. "Thank you for standing with me. You were a lot more reliable than those battle-hungry brutes." He smiled and shrugged.

"Happy to be of service. So, once you're doing better, where are we headed? Can it be somewhere warm?"

"We'll head for Ylisstol," she decided. "There will be an assassination attempt on Exalt Emmeryn's life, and I cannot allow that to happen. Not only would she die, but Father would be injured as well."

"Well, we can't have that," Pit agreed. "Then we'll head off once you're fit to travel."

"I'm fine," she insisted. "We have to hurry. The sooner we get there, the better." He nodded.

"You've got the same conviction as a friend of mine," he chuckled. "Once you decide something, nothing will sway you from it." He shook his head lightly. "Lead on, then. Let's get to Ylisstol."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I certainly take interest and amusement in writing things from Lucina's perspective. Gives me a chance to consider her side of the story before she joins up with Chrom later on. But anyway, Pit'll be playing a bigger role later on. Right now, he's more acting as Lucina's guardian until they catch up with the other children, but he's there.

And poor Sully. You don't get far fighting a god with a bronze lance.


	7. Chapter VI: To Save a Sacrifice

Sure enough, there had been a rather large scale attempt on Emmeryn's life about three weeks later. Though Lucina had been successful in warning Chrom of the danger and saving both the Exalt's life and his limb, her mask had been broken in the process. She still kept the name "Marth," but could no longer hide her gender from the world of the past.

While she had been inside protecting Emmeryn, Pit had remained out by the castle gates and picked off the assassins' reinforcements before they could strike. He had sensed a strangely dark and ominous presence during the episode, but hadn't been able to track it down or discover where it came from. But as far as he was concerned, they had accomplished their task. Emmeryn had lived and Chrom was in fine shape, and the sorcerer leading the assassins had been killed.

And so they believed that Lucina had averted the cataclysmic future they came from. They still hadn't found any of their companions or had any idea of what to do then, but she seemed much lighter than she had been before. Pit could only wonder how much of a weight that mask had given her.

But news had quickly spread that Emmeryn had been captured by Plegian forces while Chrom was on his way back from Ferox to request additional soldiers, and his Shepherds marched for Plegia and for its king. Worried that something, anything, would go wrong, Lucina had decided to follow them and Pit found no reason to argue. Emmeryn was to be executed, or so the rumors said, and such a tragedy would have rendered her actions against the assassins pointless. Pit was unsure exactly how Emmeryn's death would affect the future they came from, but decided it was best not to question his companion.

They hurried as best they could through the desert sands that so starkly contrasted the snowy fields of Ferox, and the sun was high in the sky by the time Plegia Castle came into view on the horizon.

"We've got to hurry…" Lucina panted. "I cannot let Aunt Emmeryn die!"

"Lucina!" Pit called, and she turned to him. "Look, calm down. You're going to injure yourself if you don't slow down and breathe." But he could see in her eyes that there was no reasoning with her at this point, and she kept her pace with him at her side as they headed for the castle.

Shortly later, he heard shouts of panic and could see a strange cliff jutting out of the landscape, and figure stood atop it. Though he had no idea what was happening, the sight made his heart sink and filled him with dread, and he pushed past the heat in an attempt to pick up his pace. But before they were anywhere near reaching the castle, the figure suddenly fell forth and off the cliff, heading quickly to the ground. Pit came to a halt as his mind blanked once she reached it, unable to believe what had just happened.

"No…" Lucina breathed, and the duo closed the distance between them and the castle as fast as their feet would carry them. A young woman lay on the ground and Chrom was visibly outraged and grief-stricken by the scene. Basilio and a woman that must have been Flavia rushed in as another twisted man laughed at the Exalt's fall.

"No, boy!" Basilio was saying. "I secured an escape route! We have to flee!" Chrom turned his attention to the Khan, crestfallen.

"B-But… her body… I have to…"

"You have to RUN!" Basilio demanded. "Now do it! Rufure! Don't let him do anything stupid!" Rufure nodded and hurried over, pulling on Chrom's arm and finally getting him to join his companions as they ran off, weapons at the ready in their attempt to escape.

"No!" Lucina cried out as her gaze fell on Emmeryn. "No… I'm too late…" Her eyes watered, and it slowly dripped down her cheek. "Our bleak future is written once more… and darkness awaits us all." Pit bit his lip, guilt crashing over him as well.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?!" the Plegian king demanded of his soldiers. "Get moving! Don't let them get away! I WANT THAT EMBLEM!" He left along with most of the other troops, while a handful remained and stared awkwardly at their former prisoner. Pit frowned, however, as he observed the scene around them before he tore forth and charged at the Plegians.

"P-Pit!" Lucina stuttered before following. "What are you doing?!" He didn't have time to answer her as he flung an arrow forth, striking the axe man that barreled toward him. She unsheathed Falchion and ran it through another of the soldiers. "We can't just-" He didn't entirely listen to her, but shot forth another few arrows that felled most of the remaining soldiers, and the two that remained scattered and retreated.

"Okay…" Lucina huffed. "Care to tell me what exactly you're doing? Are you insane?!" But again, he didn't reply as he skidded over to Emmeryn's side and observed her. She was gravely injured, yes, and still. But he could still sense life within her, even as drained from her body.

"She's alive," he said softly, and Lucina stopped breathing for a moment of absolute silence.

"She's… alive?" she repeated, and he nodded. "There's got to be something we can do! I don't want to see another life taken by violence!"

"Then you'd best stand back," he cautioned and summoned his staff, earning a grunt of surprise from his companion. "I don't know much about healing spells, but…" Nevertheless, he would have to try. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes as the orb atop his staff illuminated, and he moved it slowly and gently over her body as he focused his power. Emmeryn did not stir, but he sensed within her that her life had secured itself back within her body- for now.

"I can't do much," he said as he dismissed his staff and got to his feet. "She still needs an actual healer or something if she hopes to survive this." Lucina bit her lip, torn between focusing on the fallen Exalt and inquiring about what he had just done and how.

"How do you expect us to move her?" she asked. "We can't go anywhere nearby, else the Plegian army capture her if she doesn't die in the first place. We can't travel fast enough to get her somewhere safe." He sighed.

"It's my fault I didn't think of this sooner," he admitted, and she gazed at him in confusion. "But I'll meet you at the border with Ylisse, alright? Will you be okay on your own?" She nodded slowly. "Okay. Then…"

"What are you doing?!" she demanded as he pulled off his shirt, revealing the dark navy, skintight undershirt he was accustomed to wearing.

"Mind taking this with you?" he asked, tossing the shirt at her. She caught it, but didn't reply. "Okay… look, I'm doing this to save the Exalt. So… don't get too freaked out." He could tell he was worrying her, but disregarded it and focused on his own form. Within a moment, a light illuminated around his shoulder blades and called forth his wings, earning him an agape stare from a shocked Lucina. He turned to Emmeryn and, carefully, scooped her into his arms as best he could while minding her injuries. "I'll see you at the border." Before Lucina had a chance to reply, he thrust his wings down and took to the air, gaining altitude as best he could while attempting not to jostle Emmeryn around and make her injuries worse. He scanned the earth below him until he saw a small village near the coast to the south, and he took off as fast as his wings could carry him while minding the unconscious Exalt in his arms.

After a short time, he landed just outside the village and again changed his form to hide his wings before he entered, calling out for aid. A pair of women and an older man came out to investigate, and they all seemed shocked at what they found.

"This woman fell from a great height," Pit explained quickly. "She's alive, but not by much. Please… if there's anything you can do for her, help her." The man frowned and nodded.

"Of course, young man. Follow me." Pit did as he was told and entered behind the elder into a building that appeared to be some sort of ward, and he gently placed Emmeryn on one of the beds prepared. The two women went to work assessing her while the man retrieved a fancy-looking staff. "So you say she fell? How awful."

"Yes, sir," Pit confirmed. "Can I trust you to look after her?" Again, the man hesitated.

"I cannot turn a blind eye to such a tragedy. I'll do what I can to help her recover, but she'll be on her own after that. I don't want the Grimleal finding her." Pit blinked and again felt a brief wave of dread.

"That'll have to do," he sighed. "Thank you, sir. But I must be going."

"Wha…?" the elder seemed confused. "But, young man! Wait! I-" But Pit didn't wait around to hear the rest of his statement before he hurried outside and through the village's exit. And after again revealing his wings, he took to the air in the direction of Ylisse as emotions raged within him and his eyes watered. He couldn't shake the notion that this hadn't been an accident, that something had driven her to choose to sacrifice herself for whatever reason. He didn't know why she had done it, but he respected the selfless love she had to possess in order to make such a decision.

He could only hope that, somehow, she would escape the gates of the Underworld.


	8. Chapter VII: United

Despite Emmeryn's sacrifice, Chrom seemed to be on the right path of keeping peace. He defeated Gangrel, the Mad King of Plegia, without any further interference on Lucina and Pit's part. After Gangrel's fall, Chrom returned to Ylisstol and became its ruler, though he declined the title of "Exalt" out of respect to his fallen sister. He and Rufure were married shortly after the war's end, and about two years passed before news spread through Ylisse: A princess had been born. A princess named Lucina.

Unfortunately, another conflict had begun to brew as armies from the neighboring continent of Valm began to head for Ferox. Flavia and Basilio had requested Chrom's aid in defending their shores and stopping the conquest, and they had decided it best to request aid from Plegia and her new king: Validar. The Ylisseans had agreed to meet with the king, but neither of the visitors from the future had any optimism about the meeting.

And so, Lucina and Pit headed for Carrion Isle, where the meeting was supposedly taking place. What they found there, however, confirmed their fears. The shouts of battle carried on the wind along with the growls and cries of Risen. By the time they had arrived, it seemed the Shepherds had successfully fended off their attackers, though not without injury.

"That's the last of them…" Chrom breathed. "Gods, I thought it might nev-"

"Chrom, look out!" Rufure interrupted as a Risen assassin suddenly appeared, catching Chrom off guard.

"Father, no!" Lucina cried out and rushed forward before Pit could even think about stopping her. She raced over and blocked the assassin's attempt on Chrom's life. Thwarted, it disappeared, leaving Lucina huffing and Chrom staring blankly at her.

"Thank the gods you're safe!" she breathed, though Chrom didn't immediately reply.

"…You called me 'Father,'" he finally said bluntly, and Pit could see, even from his distance, that she had realized her blunder immediately.

"Did I?" she mumbled. "I… …Perhaps we might speak privately?"

"Perhaps we should, yes," he agreed, and they headed off before Rufure could object. She stared after them before sighing, though she stopped rather abruptly and pulled out an Elwind tome.

"Alright!" she spat. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Pit frowned and stepped out of the trees and bushes, holding his hands up. "Who are you?"

"My name's Pit," he replied. "I'm a friend of Marth's. More her escort, I guess." Rufure's gaze remained on him, unflinching.

"Wait… I feel like I've seen you before," she said, and he smiled a bit.

"Arena Ferox, tournament between the Khans' champions," he reminded her. "A knight named Sully may have been complaining about me."

"Ah, right," she nodded. "The archer. Well, what are you doing here?"

"I just told you," he sighed. "I'm a companion of Marth's. Where she goes, I follow. That's about all there is to it." More or less.

"So do you know why she and Chrom just suddenly wandered off?" He could hear a guarded tone in her voice, and he could only wonder what was going through her head.

"Maybe you should go ask," he suggested lightly. "I'm sure she'd come to you either way, sooner or later." She watched him for a moment longer.

"Our camp is just down these hills in another clearing," she pointed in her indicated direction. "Head there. You should be safe in case the Risen decide to show back up again."

"And your companions can keep an eye on me, right?" She blinked, taken aback by his words. "Nah, I get it. I'm a stranger and did fight against you before. I understand that you don't entirely trust me."

"…Thank you," she dipped her head. "I hope we'll be back soon." He waved as she hurried off, chasing after her husband, and he headed in her indicated direction to the camp the Ylisseans had set up a short distance away.

When he arrived, he got several strange looks from the soldiers, all likely wondering what he was doing there. But they must have decided that he wasn't worth much if he wasn't a Risen, and they went about their business and tending to their wounded without another glance to him. He blinked as a certain sense reached him, confused as to where it was coming from.

"Remiel?" he called out, but received no reply, and he headed over to a woman with light pink hair pulled back in a high ponytail and braids. She was dressed quite differently from her companions, but no one seemed to mind. "Excuse me," he beckoned, and she turned to him. "Is there a young man named Remiel around here? Rem?"

"Remiel?" she repeated in a soft voice. "I… don't believe so. I'm sorry, that name doesn't sound familiar." He frowned.

"Okay. Sorry to bother you."

"Oh, no, it's fine!" she insisted. "Um… are you a new recruit? My name is Olivia. I'm not much of a fighter, but I do the best I can to support my allies."

"I… don't know," he admitted sheepishly. "It really depends on whether my companion decides she wants to join you. Rufure sent me here while they discuss it."

"I see, I think," Olivia nodded. "I'll ask around and see if anyone knows any Remiel. I'll see you around, sir." She headed off, and he crossed his arms in thought.

"Whoo-ee!" He jumped at the sound of another voice approaching him. "That was some battle, huh? You don't get fights like that in the Plegian army!" He turned around toward the source of the voice, and his mind about blanked with the conflict of information it was receiving.

"Nemo?!" he blurted before he could truly observe this boy.

"'Nemo?'" the youth repeated with an almost devious grin on his face. "Who's Nemo? I'm Henry!" Pit blinked. This boy, Henry, certainly resembled the lord of the Underworld, and Pit could even sense a darkness within him. But Henry also appeared younger than Nemo, and was, surprisingly, even paler. His silver hair was solid in color, unlike Nemo's dark blue and black locks, and he was dressed in the robes of a Plegian Dark Mage.

"Uh… nice to meet you, Henry. I'm Pit."

"Cool!" Henry laughed. "So how long have you been with the army? How many Risen have you killed? Gotten any good wounds?" Pit stared at the youth in confusion and bit back asking what was wrong with him.

"Uh, I'm not part of the army," he replied. "Not yet, anyway. And why do you care about how many Risen I've killed? I don't know… I don't really keep track."

"Oh, so you're a new recruit too! Awesome!" No, this boy certainly wasn't Nemo. He was too happy.

"Uh… yeah…" Even so, Henry confused Pit just as much as Nemo had when they had first met. But there was something odd about him, as far as the god of Light could tell, beyond his apparent obsession with blood and death. Before he had time to ponder it, however, Rufure appeared in camp before and called him over.

"Nice meeting you, Henry," he mumbled as Henry waved at him.

"Likewise! See you around, Pit!" he called as the archer made his way over to the tactician.

"Lucina says she wants you to join us," Rufure explained, and Pit nodded. Lucina, from what he could tell, had revealed herself to her parents, and he could only wonder how that reunion had gone. He followed the tactician back toward a nearby river, where he found Lucina, Chrom, and Lissa. Chrom seemed deep in thought, but also somewhat happy as he observed his future daughter.

"This is one of which I spoke of," Lucina smiled. "Pit saved my life from Grima in the future and came here with me. He's been an irreplaceable companion in the two years I've been here." Pit felt his face warm and smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"So you're from the future too," Chrom marveled. "Then you have my thanks for keeping Lucina unharmed. I trust you both will fight with us to change our fate?"

"Of course, Father," Lucina nodded. "Almost all I know of the sword, I learned from you. And I've never seen a truer aim than Pit's. He's quite powerful."

"You're too kind, Lucina," Pit replied with the same sheepish smile. "I'm really not all that great."

"Nonsense!" she scoffed. "Beyond your talent with a bow, anyone who is able to stand against Grima and survive is truly blessed by the gods."

_Or a god himself, _he thought.

"I'm only doing what I think is necessary," he reminded her and turned to Chrom. "But, whether she's exaggerating or not, I'll gladly fight with you, milord." Chrom nodded.

"Good to hear. Then we'll have to get to finding your other comrades too. Future of despair or not, I'd feel better knowing they were with our army instead of out there on their own."

"Thank you, Father," Lucina dipped her head. "But please, don't concern yourself too much with it. I don't want to see our allies hurt just to find a handful of ragtag fighters."

"Either way," Rufure spoke up, "We'll need to get moving soon. Whether it's for Valm or to find these others from the future, I want to get off this isle before more Risen show up. And… I want to get away from Validar as soon as possible."

"I understand, Rufure," Chrom agreed. "Spread the word. We're leaving at first light."

"Hey, Chrom?" Lissa beckoned, and Chrom turned to her. "Before we go, I heard a couple of the Feroxi men talking about a temple up north with some super powerful treasure or something. Not just like cash, but something that would help our allies in battle. If we're going up against this Conqueror, maybe we should try to get it before we set sail." Chrom pondered it for a moment, then turned to his wife.

"Well, Rufure? What do you think about that?" he asked, and she lowered her head in thought.

"If it's not too far out of our way, then I think it'd be worth it. We already know that this Conqueror has thousands of well-trained men at his command. For every soldier we have, they'll have plenty more."

"Like a Hydra," Pit thought aloud, gaining attention from the other four standing there.

"Like a what?" Lissa wondered, and he blinked.

"A Hydra is… well, it's a mythological monster, I guess. Legend had it that if you cut off one head, two would take its place or something like that." He'd never seen such a creature, but he'd heard of it while studying the history of his world in his free time that, up until recently, he had a lot of. "So you cut down a Valm soldier, and two will take his place." Chrom frowned and nodded.

"It seems that way," he agreed. "Any ideas how to beat this Hydra?"

"No," Pit shook his head. "But I would assume going for the heart would be the best option."

"So we'll have to strike the heart of the Valm empire," Rufure surmised. "Go straight for the Conqueror himself, somehow. And we'll definitely need all the help we can get to do that, so it may not be a bad idea to look for this treasure." She paused. "I'll ask the Khans about it and see if they know anything. But, no matter our destination, we should get some rest, then leave as soon as we can in the morning."

"Agreed," Chrom nodded. "Lissa, think you can find a place for Lucina and Pit to stay?"

"Sure!" the Ylissean princess agreed. "And we'll find you some food too. I think Miriel and Stahl were on cooking duty tonight. That is, if Stahl doesn't eat it all first." Rufure laughed briefly before she and Chrom departed, and both Lucina and Pit followed Lissa back toward the camp.

"You certainly know a lot, don't you?" Lucina mumbled to him, and he turned to her.

"I know a lot about some things," he elaborated. "Like my history and combat. But I doubt I could ever hold a feather, per say, to your mother when it comes to strategy. I can take care of myself and a small group, but I doubt I could ever be responsible for an entire army on my own like this."

"We all have our talents," Lucina told him. "Mother's just happens to be strategy, just like Morgan."

"I wonder where he is," Pit muttered. "Or any of them. It's been two years, and yet there's been no sign of any of them."

"I know," she sighed. "But I'm keeping faith that we'll find them. This world hasn't been ruined yet. Death doesn't wait at any corner, so they should be okay."

"I hope you're right," he said dully, then turned his attention back to Lissa as she beckoned them over to a tent in camp.


	9. Chapter VIII: Revelations

The Ylissean army marched for northern Ferox on the direction of the Khans, and, after stopping in a nearby village for directions and information, arrived at somewhat strange ruins with water features and walls and floors that seemed to glow with a soft blue light. Oddly, it reminded Pit of the City of Souls, and he shook his head as he told himself to focus on the task at hand. They entered this place, the Ruins of Time as they were called, Chrom stopped at the front of the group he'd selected to join him and Rufure came to his side.

"Is this the place?" the tactician wondered as she and several other soldiers, Pit and Lucina included, looked around with mixed feelings about their location. An ill feeling passed over the group as they found their undead enemies waiting within.

"Yeah, it's got to be," Chrom agreed. "The townsfolk spoke of ruins in these parts that carry the legacy of the divine dragon. Of course, they neglected to mention that the place is crawling with Risen… I suppose we're just gonna have to earn this treasure the old-fashioned way."

"Please, Father, be careful," Lucina pleaded, and he turned to her with a brief smile.

"Hey, don't forget who apparently taught you to fight! And I'd rather have everyone here than a hundred soldiers against these things." He lifted his voice to address the rest of the group. "And that also means I don't want any of you dying here! Be careful in battle. No treasure is worth a life."

"I wonder what this Naga's Tear does," Pit mumbled as he readied his bow. "Is this seriously what you humans go through to get a blessing from a divine being? You risk death and injury, even being burned alive, in hopes that this Naga will help you?"

"Pit, please!" Lucina protested. "Naga is our defender. Her blessings have protected us from Grima and the darkness and destruction he brings to the world. Legend says that Falchion was made from her fang and given to an ancestor of the first Exalt to save our world." Somehow, Pit's ears didn't hear her words as an explanation, and he felt like he'd been slapped across the face.

"Then what am I to you?" he hissed, trying to keep his voice down. "Skuttler dung? Thanks, Lucina." She stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded, but he shook his head with is lips pursed.

"We've got a battle to fight so you can get another precious blessing from your oh-so-wonderful Naga."

"Enough of this," she said curtly. "I will not listen to you speak of Naga in such a blasphemous way. You know she's the reason why we have a fighting chance now! She's the one that sent us back to save the world from Grima!"

"'Blasphemous!'" he repeated with a harsh and brief laugh.

"Hey!" Chrom snapped at them. "I don't know what you're arguing about, but save it for after the battle. I don't care what the issue is, but it's not worth you two putting each other in danger. Now watch each others' backs!" Pit frowned, but said nothing else as he attempted to hide his hurt.

"He's right," Lucina said quietly. "I'll keep you safe, Pit, even if you are displaying a strong bout of stupidity." He snorted.

"If anyone needs protecting, it's you. All of you." Before she could say anything else, he hurried off, telling himself to take his anger out on the Risen.

"Chrom," Rufure beckoned as the battle waged around them. "There's a boy over to the right. It's strange… he's dressed like me. But he's certainly not a Risen, and he seems versed in magic." Chrom frowned before turning and blocking a Risen's axe, and Rufure dispatched it with a cast of Elfire.

"Don't worry, Rufure," he told her. "I'll take care of him. Strange that a Plegian would be fighting against the Risen…"

"Unless it's just a trick," Rufure pointed out. "Maybe I should go."

"No, let me," Chrom insisted. "Take over command while I'm busy. I don't want them trying to plant anything else in your head, especially with that hierophant and Validar. I trust that man as far as I can throw him."

"I understand," she nodded. "Be careful." Chrom nodded and made his way to the boy while his allies fought off the assailing Risen.

"Gods, where do these things keep coming from?" he wondered as he ran Falchion through an attacker. "It doesn't help that we have to fight the living AND the dead." He hurried over with his sword at the ready. "Hey, you!"

"Huh?!" the boy spun around to face his beckoner and blinked several times as Chrom stared at him. He certainly was dressed like Rufure, and he had dark blue hair and brown-green eyes. He was a young lad, much younger than Chrom would have expected to see fighting- especially on his own. "Who are you?" he wondered, his tone guarded but not unkind.

"I would ask you the same," Chrom replied. "More importantly, why are you here? This is hardly a safe place to be wandering alone." Even if the boy seemed skilled in swords and magic.

"I…" the boy hesitated. "I don't know, frankly. I woke up… sprawled in a field. I can't recall anything before that." Chrom stared at him.

"This sounds familiar," he grumbled, recalling how he'd met Rufure two years previous.

"I… I think I remember my name?" Chrom wasn't sure whether the boy was talking to him or himself. "…Morgan? Yes, that's it. My name is Morgan."

"I'm Chrom," the Ylissean ruler introduced. "And finding amnesiacs is apparently my special talent. I met someone very dear to me in the same way. Her name is Rufure."

"Rufure?!" Morgan repeated. "Is this friend of yours perchance a tactician?"

"She is," Chrom nodded. "Do you know her?"

"Yes, I know her! She's my mother!"

"'Mother?!'" This was news to Chrom. "Then you're our… You're my…" It seemed impossible. "Morgan, stay calm and listen to me. Rufure is my wife. Which means you're likely my son who came here from the future." Now it was Morgan's turn to stare at his father.

"…What?! But I… the future?! Is… Is that why I have no memory? But wait, I remember my mother. So why don't I remember you?"

"I don't know," Chrom admitted. "Do you recall a sister named Lucina?"

"No," Morgan shook his head. "Nothing like that." Chrom sighed heavily.

"I suppose it's a blessing you at least remember your mother. Maybe something will come back once you've met with her and Lucina. Until then, you'd best come with me. And stay close. I don't want you hurt."

"All right, thank you," Morgan smiled. "And don't worry- I can defend myself. You just lead the way."

"Right. Then- Morgan, behind you!" Morgan spun around again and cast a strike of Elfire before a Risen Swordmaster could hit him. And as he attacked, Chrom stared at the back of his hand as his sleeve was pulled up briefly. Though he only saw it for a split second, it was there without a doubt: The mark of the Exalt.

"This kid really is my son," he breathed, but shook his head. "Gotta regroup for now. I can talk to him later."

Meanwhile, Rufure led the charge against the Risen Chief with Lucina at her side. It appeared the Ylisseans were winning, but the reinforcements had made things more difficult for their tactician.

"I need to go back and help our allies," she said quickly to her daughter. "Do you think you can challenge their leader?" Lucina nodded.

"You can count on me, Mother. His death will be swift and unforgiving." Rufure dipped her head and turned back toward their comrades. Though their numbers were dwindling, the Risen still fought with everything they had and showed no signs of slowing down. Lucina turned her attention to the Risen Chief and readied Falchion.

"Must kill… future… child…" it moaned, confusing her.

"You mean me?" she wondered. "Or is someone else here?" her heart fluttered with the thought that they had finally found one of her other companions, but she told herself to refocus and struck quickly. The Risen groaned as her blade slashed against him, but it retaliated with its axe almost as quickly. It came down hard, and she dodged- barely. But she missed her second strike and bit her lip as its glowing eyes stared at her, filled only with malice.

An arrow flew by her head and struck the Risen in the chest, and it growled loudly before fading into dark smoke and wisps. Once she was sure her heart was still beating, she turned around to find Pit standing behind her as he lowered his bow. His gaze was level and his face serious, his brow still slightly furrowed.

"I came to protect you," he said flatly. "I'm not about to watch any of you fall to these things." It took her a moment to reply.

"Thank you," she finally said quietly. "For your help." He said nothing else, but only stood there as their companions finished off the remaining Risen. Once they were gone, Chrom, Rufure, and Lissa approached the part of the ruins that the Risen Chief had been guarding. The Ylissean ruler rummaged around for several moments before retrieving a tear-like object.

"This must be Naga's Tear," he realized. "I can feel the power coursing through it."

"Sweet!" Lissa grinned. "This baby should keep us safe in the battles to come."

"I hope you're right about that, Sis." Chrom turned to his wife and took a deep breath. "Will you come with me for a moment?"

"Sure," she nodded. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I think." He turned his attention to the pair from the future. "Are you two going to be okay?"

"Yes, Father," Lucina dipped her head. "I apologize for worrying you." Pit remained silent, even as Chrom watched him for a moment before giving up, and he, his wife, and his sister headed off for whatever business they had to attend. Once he was sure they were out of earshot, he sighed.

"I've risked my life more times than I can count to save you," he began, and Lucina turned to him. "Not just you, but everyone. Humans. For over a thousand years, I've fought, argued, stood up for all of you." He crossed his arms and refused to look at her. "Even when Medusa was burning your crops and turning you to stone, I fought. When Hades wanted to harvest your souls for his own agenda, I stopped him. When Nemo wanted to wipe you out and start over with a new world, I fought and saved you. When Viridi wanted to drop her Reset Bombs on you because she thought you weren't worth living, I kept you safe. For a millennium, I've watched over you from the heavens and given you light, protected your lives, defended you from all the things out there that would see you suffer." They were both silent for several moments.

"Pit…" Lucina finally spoke. "I'm not sure I understand. What are you trying to tell me?" Finally, he looked up and met her gaze.

"I'm the god of Light," he said softly, and her jaw fell open as she stared at him.

"Th-the… god of… Light?" she repeated in disbelief. He uncrossed his arms and clenched his fingers, and when he opened them, a small ball of light illuminated over his palm.

"I told you, I came to fight as one of you and oversee your progress in defeating Grima. I wanted to see if you could defend yourselves. But I would never abandon you, and even if you can't, then I'll stop him myself. That's why I'm here, Lucina." Stunned into silence, she simply watched him for a moment longer before falling to her knees and bowing to him.

"M-My sincerest and deepest apologies, milord. I never meant any insult against you… I am ready to accept any judgment you pass over me. Please, do with me as you see fit." He blinked.

"Lucina…" he shook his head. "Stand up." She complied hesitantly. "Hold out your hand, will you?" Confused, she did so, and he took hold of it, and she grunted in surprise when he pulled her into an embrace and held her gently against him. "Don't I have a heartbeat? I'm warm, aren't I?" He smiled. "Tell me how this is different from you hugging a friend or someone close to you."

"I…" she hesitated. "I don't know."

"Exactly," he said softly. "I'm not so different from you or your kind. I was a human myself once. Sure, I may have a bunch of abilities and skill you don't and can stand up to battle for a little longer, not to mention my real form has wings as you saw, but there're still plenty of ways that we're alike too. Don't view me as a divine being that deserves your fear and respect, Lucina. I want to be your friend and comrade that you can trust and rely on. Whether the rest of your kind knows that or not, it really doesn't matter to me as long as they still, in some way, trust me." After a moment longer, he felt her arms wrap gently around his back.

"Thank you, Pit," she replied. "You have my full and complete trust. I'm sorry I upset you."

"Me too," he agreed. "I didn't like that feeling. I don't like being mad at you. Or anyone, but especially you. Just… do me a favor and don't tell anyone about what I just said, okay? It's probably better that no one knows who I really am."

"Your secret's safe with me. I promise."

The sound of a clearing throat separated them, and they both turned to find Chrom and Rufure standing there.

"Hope we're not interrupting," Chrom said curtly. "But I think there's something you'd both be very interested in. Especially you, Lucina." He stepped to the side to reveal a boy standing behind them. At the sight of him, Lucina stopped breathing for a moment as her eyes watered, and she rushed over to him and pulled him into her arms.

"Morgan!" she cried, and released him after a moment as he watched her.

"Lu…cina?" He sounded confused. "Yeah, you're Lucina!" His expression suddenly illuminated with a bright grin. "I remember you! A little, anyway. Sort of. But it's something!"

"Remember?" Lucina frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He lost his memory," Chrom explained. "Apparently his memory of your mother is clear as day, but he says he doesn't recall anything about me. But I guess you two were probably decently close in this future of yours."

"Right," Lucina lied, deciding it was probably better if she didn't bring up Morgan's former allegiances. "I apologize that I didn't mention him before, but I was afraid of bringing up further confusion and false hope that we would find him."

"Huh," Rufure shrugged. "Well, at least one of you seems to have taken after me! But we can talk on the road. For now, we should probably be headed to the harbor."

"Right," Chrom agreed. "The sooner we get to Valm, the better. We'll camp outside tonight and head out in the morning." The group of five headed off for the entrance of the ruins, and Morgan ran up to join his mother with a grin on his face.

"I'm glad he's okay," Lucina said as she and Pit brought up the rear. "But I wonder why he lost his memory. Maybe it has something to do with what Grima said before we left…"

"What, commanding Morgan to join him again or whatever?" Pit asked, and she nodded. "I don't know. But he seems happy enough, and he's been reunited with your mother just as you have with your father. And that's what counts, right?"

"Right," she smiled. "Thank you, Pit. And now, maybe we'll get a chance to find the others as well. I can only imagine what trouble Owain has caused since he got here."

"I guess we'll see," he chuckled. "And you're welcome."


	10. Chapter IX: Divine Blood

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to be able to fly right now," Pit grumbled as Chrom's army approached the Mila Tree on the whim of Princess Say'ri, a member of the resistance against Conqueror Walhart's forces. After crossing the ocean and saving her from Valmese soldiers, she had directed them to find the Voice of Naga, a supposed Manakete named Tiki who was being held in her temple nestled among the branches of the Mila Tree. Along the way, they had detoured to a place known as the Great Gate and found someone they hadn't been expecting fighting the bandits there: Inigo.

"Dear Lucina, have you seen anything so large in your life?" he was saying, obviously unchanged from when they had passed through the gate at Naga's whim. He'd had an emotional reunion with his mother, Olivia, and his father, a mercenary by the name of Gregor. He'd stuck awfully close to Lucina when he wasn't with his soon-to-be-parents, and for some reason, he aggravated Pit.

"Yes," Lucina replied curtly. "Grima." Inigo's grin vanished to be replaced with a frown.

"Right, of course," he sighed. "I see you're still as serious as ever. Come, now! Show me a smile! Take in the beauty around us! Being this serious can't be healthy for you."

"Hey, Inigo," Pit interrupted and grabbed the young man's arm, and Lucina mouthed a quick "Thank you" to him as he pulled the mercenary away. "Show me a few techniques with the sword, will you?" Not that Pit needed any training, especially from a ragtag sellsword.

"Pit, you devious fellow!" Inigo scoffed. "I was trying to help! I would have loved to see Lucina's beautiful smile once again. And perhaps ask her to join me for tea… and maybe a little more…"

"And the truth comes out," Pit sighed. "I doubt your flirting is something she needs to deal with right now."

"I see, good man!" Inigo grinned with a challenging glint in his eye. "You think that just because you've been at her side for these two years that you can have her all to yourself!" Pit felt his face heat at the remark.

"What?!" he demanded. "It's nothing like that! I'm just looking after the interests of this army."

"So say your words, but your flustered face says otherwise!" Inigo teased. "Then we'll settle this like men. I challenge you, Pit! For Lucina's heart and hand!"

"Do I get a say in this?" Lucina wondered, but Inigo either didn't hear her or just ignored her entirely. Pit sighed heavily.

"Have at you, Pit, you scoundrel! Let's dance! Draw your weapon!" With that, and as Pit rolled his eyes, Inigo drew his sword and rushed forward, but Pit ducked as his challenger swung at him. "Fancy footwork! But it won't be enough to win you the day!" Pit smirked and dodged again.

"Sorry about this, Kuro," he mumbled and raised his voice. "You want footwork? I'll show you footwork!" With that, he launched himself off his back foot and delivered a vicious kick to Inigo's abdomen that sent him sprawling. He landed with a huff and lay there for a moment, stunned, as both Pit and Lucina hurried over to him.

"G-good show," the downed swordsman gasped and took Pit's offered hand as he got to his feet. "What say we call this a draw?"

"A draw?" Lucina laughed. "I'd hate to see what it takes to actually defeat you!" Inigo blushed and stared at her.

"L-Lucina! You wound me! Though I am impressed at your moves, Pit. And what strength! You look much too modest, my friend."

"You don't know the half of it," Pit chuckled.

"All right, all of you!" The three turned around to find Flavia glaring at them. "Much as I'm always up for a good spar, remember that we're on a mission, will you? And I'll be damned if I see you picking petty fights with each other when we're about to engage in real battle. So get yourselves together and get out there!" They all nodded and hurried forth onto the roots of the tree with weapons at the ready.

"Hey, Pit!" Inigo called from across the water between the roots. "How about this? Whoever gets the most kills is the winner!"

"Inigo, these aren't just Risen we're fighting!" he snapped. "These are living, breathing, natural human beings. Just because they're our enemies doesn't mean we cut down every single one of them in cold blood." Inigo fell silent, taken aback by his words.

"Right," he finally said. "Just make sure that, if it comes down to it, they die instead of you!"

"I'm really hard to kill," Pit muttered and pulled back an arrow, letting it fly against an advancing Pegasus Knight. Both rider and mount fell to the roots and water, and the Pegasus protested vocally, and a pang of guilt ran through him. He hurried over to it and frowned.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled to it, stroking its flank as he pulled the arrow from its side. "You didn't choose this, yet you follow your rider without question." He glanced around and found that most everyone around him was busy fighting and countering the blows against them. He took a deep breath and focused on the beast's wound, and a soft light flowed from his hand into it. The Pegasus's cries quieted, and he smiled as it turned its gaze on him. "Go on, then. Fly out of here." He turned and nocked another arrow, aimed it at a nearby mage, and let it fly quickly. The mage was hit straight in the shoulder and fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, Chrom was pushing through to the enemy general, a man with a rather large and curled mustache. Even from a distance, Pit could see that the Ylissean leader was quickly growing irritated with his opponent, and he readied a Rapier in favor of Falchion. Their fight was over almost as soon as it started, and the few remaining Valmese soldiers quickly began to retreat.

"Quickly, now!" Chrom ordered. "Knights and healers, stay behind and tend to the wounded. Take shelter in the trunk as soon as you're able to. Everyone else, let's go find this Voice!" Both Pit and Inigo hurried to catch up with Lucina as they began ascending the great staircase within the Mila Tree's trunk.

"Whew!" Lissa huffed after a while. "Ugh… how many stairs are there in a case of stairs? Because I'm already sick of this stupid staircase!"

"The Voice truly lives all the way up here?" Lucina wondered as they emerged among the Mila Tree's branches and found a temple waiting there.

"Lady Tiki!" Say'ri called out, stepping forward with Chrom and Lucina following. "Are you here? Prithee answer!" From within the temple emerged what appeared to be a young woman, garbed in a short red dress and pink scarf-like cloth. Her long green hair was tied back in a ponytail with an ornament just above her bangs, and she had long, pointed ears like the Manaketes Pit had met in the army. This newcomer yawned.

"Ah, my lady… I'm so relieved to see you're all right," Say'ri smiled, dipping her head.

"So you are Lady Tiki?" Lucina wondered as she stepped forward. "She who speaks for the divine dragon?" Tiki stared at the Ylissean princess for a moment, puzzled.

"…Marth?" she wondered. "Oh, Mar-Mar, is that you?!" Lucina blinked.

"…My name is Lucina, milady. Though I did go by the name Marth for a time. Might we have met?" Tiki hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

"Alas, no. I'm sorry… You reminded me of someone I knew. But he is gone now. Lost during my endless sleep." Lucina looked down for a moment with a crestfallen face. "You and your father are of the Exalted bloodline, are you not?" she wondered.

"Yes, milady," Chrom replied.

"Do you yet possess the Fire Emblem? It should have been passed down through your family…" Now Chrom hesitated for a moment before holding it up.

"Yes, I have it," he confirmed, and Tiki's expression brightened.

"Ah! What a relief to know it has not been lost. But where are the Gemstones? I see only Argent."

"Gemstones?" Chrom echoed, perplexed.

"Yes, there are five of them," Tiki explained. "Argent, Sable, Gules, Azure, and Vert. Each holds a portion of Naga's power. When mounted upon the Emblem, they allow one to perform the Awakening." Pit blinked, thinking back to the Fire Emblem that Lucina had used to call Naga forth in the future. And, sure enough, he recalled it having all five Gemstones mounted in place. He could only wonder how they'd gotten there.

"The rite by which the first Exalt channeled the divine dragon's power," Frederick nodded.

"The very same," Tiki agreed. "With the Fire Emblem's power, the Exalt was able to defeat Grima. But such power was too much for men, and so the Gemstones were scattered. I kept Azure here with me."

"My kingdom has safeguarded Vert for generations," Say'ri informed them. "But the gem was recently stolen by Walhart's men."

"Milady, do you know where the other two Gemstones might be?" Lucina wondered, and Tiki shook her head.

"The remaining Gemstones, Sable and Gules, are no longer known to me. They may have been taken long ago, at the time of the Schism."

"Regna Ferox was founded during the Schism," Basilio recalled. "As were most all nations in the realm, I believe."

"Wait," Lissa interrupted. "Does that mean you guys have one of the Gemstones, Basilio?"

"Ha!" Flavia laughed heartily. "As if anyone would entrust the oaf with such a thing!"

"Actually, it's true," Basilio said, and Flavia stared at him. "We did keep one: Gules. Did I never inform you?"

"You most certainly did not," she scoffed.

"Hmm. Must have slipped my mind," he shrugged. "Regardless, yes. The West Khans once safeguarded Gules. But it was lost long before my lifetime."

"Here," Tiki held out a small, round gem to Chrom. "Take Azure, Exalted ones. With it, you possess two of the five Gemstones. Now you must seek out the others and perform the Awakening. Our world must be defended from Grima at all costs!"

"But I'm confused…" Chrom frowned. "I thought Grima's power as sealed away." Lucina bit her lip and watched her father with a concerned, even hurt gaze.

"Yes, but ever since, there have been those who would change that," Tiki continued.

"Don't I know it," Pit mumbled.

"Grima's life force grows even now, and with it, the long shadows of despair."

"When will he return? And where?" Chrom asked, but Tiki again shook her head.

"I cannot know these things. But I can feel his presence… It looms, closer and closer… this task is a heavy burden, but as he of Exalted blood, it must fall to you, Chrom."

"I understand," he dipped his head. "Thank you, for all your help."

"We owe you a great debt, milady," Rufure agreed with a smile.

"Ah!" Tiki gasped. "You… you have it…"

"What?" Rufure wondered, confusion evident on her face.

"You have power… like mine."

"I do?" Rufure turned to her husband, but he shrugged.

"I… Ah, forgive me. I am still groggy from my slumber. My words outpace my thoughts," the Voice said, and Say'ri approached her carefully.

"Are you all right, milady?" the Chon'sin princess asked, and Tiki nodded.

"I am fine… just very tired. I haven't the strength to join you in the fray. Not yet. But I will call the people together, in prayer, for an end to this conflict."

"That's all we can ask," Chrom replied. "Thank you." He turned to his gathered allies and raised his voice. "Let's get to the base of the tree and call it a night. Tomorrow, we march!" Quick cries of agreement sounded, and the Ylissean forces and allies began making their way to the staircase within the trunk.

"More stairs," Lissa groaned.

"Peace, milady," Frederick chuckled. "At least you're going down this time."

"Right, right…" she certainly didn't sound convinced, but started her way down nonetheless.

"Well, shall we?" Lucina beckoned, and Pit smiled as he began to follow her toward the staircase.

"Divine one." He blinked and turned around at the Voice's beckoning, pointing at himself. "Yes, you." He turned back to Lucina for a moment.

"I'll catch up," he mumbled, and hurried back to Tiki before the Ylissean princess could object. "What can I do for you, milady?"

"You are of divine blood, are you not?" Tiki asked gently, and Pit hesitated for a moment.

"I guess it depends on how you look at it," he finally replied.

"But you are not of this world," she elaborated.

"I wouldn't say that."

"Ah… I mean to say that you are not of this realm. You are divine, are you not? Perhaps even more powerful than Naga herself." He looked down and frowned.

"Yeah, I am." He looked back up to meet her gaze. "Milady Tiki, I am Pit. I am the god of Light." Her eyes widened for a brief moment before she smiled.

"And you have come to save our realm from Grima," she guessed, and he nodded. "But… why do you take such a form? Forgive me, but I would have thought a god to be more than a simple archer."

"I've been an archer for as long as I can remember," he told her. "Before I became what I am today. But I don't want to be the one who defeats the Fell Dragon. I want to see if humankind- and dragonkin, I guess- are capable of saving themselves again."

"Just as Marth did so long ago…" Tiki shut her eyes. "So you are here to offer what aid you can without directly involving yourself." Again, she smiled. "Thank you, Lord Pit. They will need your guidance."

"I know," he nodded. "And I'll do everything I can to see Grima defeated one way or another."

"Pit!" someone called, and he recognized the voice to be Lucina's. "Are you coming? Hurry up before Father gets worried!"

"Does she know?" Tiki asked. "About who you are."

"Sort of," Pit replied with a sheepish smile. "She knows who I am, but not the fullest extent of what that means. But I should get going."

"I will join you soon," she told him. "Until then, I wish you luck." He dipped his head and headed toward the trunk, joining Lucina before heading down the staircase.


	11. Chapter X: Purpose

Many a battle had the Ylisseans fought and won under Chrom's command and Rufure's strategy. They had defeated Yen'fay, ruler of the Chon'sin dynast, and learned of his sacrifice to save his sister Say'ri while the Valmese tactician, Excellus, had toyed with them at every turn. Basilio had agreed to lead a small distraction force against Walhart himself, even after Lucina had warned him that he would be killed in battle. True to her words, they had received the news that Basilio had fallen against the Conqueror and trusted Flavia with one of the Gemstones needed to restore the Fire Emblem.

Lucina had been beside herself with sorrow, regretting that she had ever let him go in the first place, and Pit had no idea of how to console her. Basilio was a man that had all but convinced him that the humans had grown strong, a far cry from the flimsy creatures that he'd known so long ago. But even the strongest man could find his match in another, it seemed, and he scolded himself for letting his guard down.

"I should have gone," he mumbled as they marched for the Valmese capital after felling Walhart's forces that met them at the gate. Seeing the red-clad Conqueror fall, only to retreat, turned his stomach as Basilio's hearty laugh echoed in his memory.

"What do you mean?" Lucina asked as she marched at his side, and he turned his head to face her.

"When Chrom and Rufure decided to divide the army, I should have gone with Basilio. Or even taken his place." He clenched his fists. "I could have taken Walhart. And even if I didn't, I could have bought time." He snorted. "I've got all the time in the world. And I'm being selfish with it."

"Pit…" Lucina sighed. "Speaking tactically, Father wouldn't have let you lead the force. He doesn't know what you're capable of- and neither do I, now that I think about it. But, to them, you're just another soldier, albeit being from the future. He wouldn't have sent me or Inigo or Morgan either. Basilio was a strong man. There's a reason he was a Khan of Ferox. I wish he were still here. I believe we need him. But…" she shook her head. "There's no way now to alter the past. We'll have to make due without him. And that starts with defeating Walhart."

"Lucina… can I… ask you a weird question?" he wondered hesitantly, and she nodded. "I've been wondering this for as long as I can remember. Why do you humans start all these wars? Gangrel, Walhart, and whatever tie Validar has to the Risen… what's the point in taking so many lives?" He felt hot water sting his eyes. "This isn't what I signed up for! I took a vow to defend the humans! I came to save you from Grima, not help kill and drive another stupid war!"

"Pit, please, forgive us," she pleaded and touched his arm gently. "I've been wondering the same thing. I hate war. I hate killing. But it never seems to stop. I want to see a world of peace, but there are always men who would change that for the most foolish reasons- Walhart Gangrel, even my own grandfather, from the stories I've heard. Even the Hero-King, in the name of justice and light, killed those who opposed him."

"Maybe I'm not much better," Pit mumbled. "Medusa, Hades, Mastema, even Nemo… I've had to fight them all to attain peace. It can never come without bloodshed- and I've shed enough of my own over the years."

"I… there's no true justifiable reason in killing," Lucina thought aloud. "But I believe the best we can do is do so in the name of a just cause. We do this to allow for peace to come."

"Kill…" he repeated. "You know what? Now that I think about it, all four of them… I've never killed any of them. Not permanently. But then again, it's a lot easier for gods to come back than humans." He sighed heavily. "Killing never works, even in the realm of the gods. They'll still find a way to come back. At least you only have to finish off a .human once." He blinked. "Well, that was dark."

"But true," Lucina agreed. "When a man falls at your feet with his blood on your weapon, he won't rise again- not naturally. And at that point, he is only suffering. Death is a gift. That is why we believed in striking down as many of the Risen as possible, beyond the kill or be killed mentality of our world."

"Promise me something," he said, and she watched him curiously. "When all this is over, if we can either prevent Grima's resurrection or find a way to stop him, you'll lead this world to peace. You'll find a way to keep light in the world. Because I don't know if I can do it alone."

"You have my word, Pit. I'll do everything I can to see the peace we've suffered for survive."

"Thank you," he smiled a bit just as Chrom raised his voice at the head of the army.

"Listen up!" he called out, silencing the force. "This ends here, now, today. Walhart's reign ends or we fight until the last man falls. Say'ri is right- we will be the ones who conquer the Conqueror!" Cheers erupted from the soldiers as Chrom drew Falchion. "Now, we fight! Come on!" With Rufure at his side, he hurried into the castle, and his followers joined him within heartbeats.

"This needs to end today," Pit muttered. "I'm not going to deal with another day of this stupid war."

"Hear, hear," someone called behind him, and he sighed as he readied his bow.

"I see Walhart, still seated in his throne room," Chrom noticed. "It doesn't seem like he's thinking about escape."

"And his soldiers," Rufure said as she scanned them. "They look ready to die before they'd surrender. One must admire their loyalty, at least."

"Loyalty…" Pit mumbled. How fragile a word it was. He couldn't help recall Medusa's words so long ago, that the humans turn to the gods in times of hardship and wave them off in times of prosperity. He thought of the Centurions attacking him- their captain- without question when the Chaos Kin had taken control of Palutena. His mind strayed to Nemo and his precarious peace in the Underworld, where he struggled to gain loyalty from its inhabitants even a thousand years after he became its ruler. Pit shook his head. "I've been hanging around these humans too long. They're messing with my head."

"He does inspire that in people," Chrom agreed with his wife. "It's part of what makes him so dangerous."

"He inspires that in SOME people," Rufure pointed out.

"Yes, in some," Chrom nodded. "But not me." With that, he gave the order to begin the battle, and the Ylisseans charged deeper into the castle. Among the Valmese appeared the man who had led their soldiers at the Mila Tree, one with a large mustache named Cervantes, and Excellus stood some distance behind him. Though Cervantes appeared ready to die for his Conqueror, Excellus looked about as comfortable as a hawk in a birdcage.

Pit nocked an arrow and thought back to what Flavia had told everyone about Walhart. Yes, Chrom had been successful defeating him at the gate, but it had almost seemed too easy of a victory. The archer could only wonder if Walhart himself had been toying with them. This was not a man who would retreat. Only death would stop him. He took a deep breath and scanned his opponents, trying to recall everything he'd learned about the humans, their weapons, and their fighting styles since he'd arrived with Lucina two years ago. Walhart favored an axe this time, and that was weak against a sword but strong against a lance. Weapons were often made out of iron, steel like his bow, or silver as the strongest. Walhart had fortified himself and his mount against any attacks designed to fell armored or horseback soldiers with ease, so it would be pointless to try to use one against him. Magic likely would have been their best bet, but the only thing he was decent with was Light and he didn't want to spark suspicion.

He shut out the distractions of the battle around him and aimed at a Swordmaster brandishing a silver sword, deciding it was his best bet. The feathers of the arrow brushed against his fingertips as it left them and slipped silently through the air before piercing the Swordmaster's chest. He stumbled, releasing his blade, and fell to the ground a moment later.

"What am I becoming?" Pit asked of himself as he hurried over. "Sniping humans and stealing their possessions when they're dead… Lady Palutena would be appalled." He could only wonder if she was, somewhere within his spirit, unable to believe what her former servant and successor was doing. He shook his head and ignored the thoughts as he retrieved the silver sword.

"Hey, Pit!" he heard someone call, and traced the voice to be Sully's from across the room. "What the hell are you doing? If you're so good with a damn sword, why didn't you say anything?!" He ignored her and trained his focus to the Conqueror in his throne room as a blast of magic courtesy of a mage by the name of Miriel and another from Henry took down his guards.

Walhart smiled as much as he was capable of when Pit approached him, the sword gripped tight in his right hand. He pulled his axe up accordingly and met his challenger's unwavering gaze.

"You would challenge the Conqueror himself?!" he demanded. "You would choose to meet your death? Ha!" Pit's gaze remained straight and serious. "You are no warrior, boy. You are an archer belonging behind the front lines as you attempt to weaken your foes for your allies to finish off. You are weak!"

"Weak," he repeated. "Walhart," the Conqueror seemed appalled that his lowly opponent would address him only by name, "You are weak. Weakness has driven you to believe you have to hide behind a mountain of strength and bloodshed to achieve anything. Men like you are the reason war continues." His brow furrowed. "Men like you are the reason I'm even here! You drive yourselves to the point of destruction over what- land? Telling people what to do? Respect? Wealth? WHAT'S THE POINT?!" Walhart stared at him before he started laughing.

"You answered your own question, boy! Respect! Land! Loyalty! Man must conquer itself to achieve anything. There are always others standing in your way, and you will crush them under your boot! That is the only way they'll learn their place. It's the sword or the knee! Now, take your pick. Die, or choose to serve me as your new god!" At that point, something in Pit's system snapped and hot anger consumed his body like wildfire. His hand clenched around the sword's handle and he directed a part of his power into its blade, and immediately lunged forward with a wordless shout, and the blade cracked the Conqueror's breastplate and drove into his chest. It wasn't a deep wound, but enough to hinder him as he swung his axe up and Pit nimbly dodged back as Walhart huffed and removed the sword.

"You are strong…" he panted as Pit retrieved his bow and an arrow from his quiver.

"Trust me on this, Walhart. Your land and loyalty will mean nothing to Nemo. You'll be a drifting soul in the Underworld just like everybody else." With that, he released the arrow and it made contact in the hole left by the sword. Walhart grunted and nearly fell off his mount as he gripped at his wound.

"Nngh…" he groaned. "Do you see? Often the sword… is the only way… My conquest… ends here…" He slid off the horse's back and landed hard on the ground. Pit let out a heavy sigh and lowered his head.

"The sword is the only way because that's the only path you give." He shook his head. "It's always been that way. But I won't rest until that path isn't taken anymore."

"Walhart has fallen!" some soldier- he couldn't tell if it was friend or foe- shouted, and the fighting ceased a moment later. Frederick stepped forward and mumbled something to Chrom, and the Ylissean ruler nodded. The Shepherds' second in command left a moment later, and Pit found himself lost in his thoughts. Walhart's words, his concerns for Nemo and Kuro, and his memories of Palutena all began to blur together and took the world around him with it, and he didn't resist as Inigo and Morgan began leading him away.

Frederick soon reported that the remaining Valmese soldiers had agreed to cease hostilities, and Say'ri had recovered Vert, one of the five Gemstones of the Fire Emblem, and presented it to Chrom as thanks for his aid. He announced that they would be heading immediately for Ylisstol, and they departed as soon as they were able.

While on the ship and with the sea breeze ruffling his hair, Pit sighed as he leaned against the side with his arms folded gently. His eyes watched the endless water absentmindedly until he heard footsteps approaching him, and Lucina came to stand at his side.

"I'm sorry I haven't gotten a chance to spend any time with you," she said as her hair blew gently to the side. "Father, Mother, and I have been discussing Grima's resurrection, and Father thinks we should do everything in our power to find the last Gemstone."

"I understand, Lucina," he replied dully. "You don't have to explain yourself to me." They remained there in silence for several moments.

"Pit," she beckoned, and he turned his head toward her. "You wouldn't hide anything from me, would you?" He didn't know how to reply. "I mean… you would tell me if something is bothering you?"

"I appreciate your concern for me," he told her. "I… have a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Care to talk about it?" she smiled a bit. "Sometimes it helps me if I can tell someone about my concerns, even if they can't really do anything to help me."

"Heh…" he shook his head and returned his gaze to the ocean. "It's been a long time since I've faced a conflict like this without my brother. I never realized how much his company means to me." He paused. "Lucina… do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"I'm not sure I understand," she fretted, and he sighed.

"I… there was a woman I served before I came to be what I am today," he began. "She taught me everything I knew before she… died. She always wanted to protect the people, do things honorably, told me to do what I believe is right to defend the peace and the Celestial Balance." He lowered his head. "But… I shot down a man and stole his weapon so I could defeat his leader. What's the honor in that? How is that justice?" She didn't immediately reply.

"Walhart would have only brought more bloodshed," she reminded him. "War brings sacrifice on all sides. Even the winner doesn't escape unscathed. But… I believe in doing whatever it takes for the greater good. You simply have to judge between what's right and what's wrong."

"Judge between…" his mind blanked, and he dropped his forehead against the wood. "DUH! Oh, I'm such a moron!"

"Pit?!" She rested her hand on his shoulder as he looked back up with a smile on his face.

"That's why I was created! That's what I'm supposed to be. I was given the heart and mind to judge between right and wrong and follow my convictions no matter what the cost was. That's how I could face the Underworld and the Forces of Nature. That's why I saved Kuro. That's why I fought Lady Palutena. That's why Nemo is one of my closest allies!" He laughed, suddenly giddy, and he could barely contain himself as he turned to his companion. "I guess I lost sight of that in the hundreds of years I've been around. Thanks for reminding me." She returned his smile and nodded.

"Um, I'm glad I could help," she chuckled, though a soft "meep" escaped her lips as he pulled her into his arms again and held her close.

"I mean it, Lucina. I can't thank you enough. You're a sharp reminder of why I'm here." When he finally released her, she smiled again and took his hand.

"And your guidance gives me the strength to keep fighting," she replied. "You have my gratitude."

"Lucina?"

"Yes, Pit?"

"You're blushing a bit," he informed her, and her cheeks turned a shade pinker.

"A-am I?" She laughed uneasily. "I… I just… Pit, I…" she sighed. "Don't go anywhere, okay? We need you to save our future. …I need you." He squeezed her hand before releasing it.

"I'm not going anywhere until that blasted dragon is no more," he vowed. "So keep fighting, Lucina. I'll help where I can, but victory has to belong to you and your father. That way, I'll know you humans have grown strong." He turned back to the ocean once again. "And it wouldn't hurt if Poseidon would give us a little boost back to Ylisse."

"Poseidon?" she echoed with a laugh, and he grinned at her.

"Just the god of the Sea, if you will," he explained. "Cranky if you don't catch him in the right mood. And kind of judgmental. But I doubt you have anything to worry about. Though I wonder what he thinks of Rufure setting those ships on fire!"

"I hope you'll put in a good word for us," she said, and shivered a bit as the breeze picked up. "Maybe we should head below decks. It's getting chilly."

"Wimp," he teased and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "This is nothing. You should see the Seafloor Palace. Parts of it are covered in ice. And I went running around in there with shorts and a sleeveless tunic on!"

"Okay, okay, so I'm not a Feroxi," she laughed. "But you're awfully warm. Would you mind if I stayed with you for a bit?"

"Not at all, Lucina. I'm glad to have you here."


	12. Chapter XI: Terror

Almost as soon as the Ylisseans had returned to their capital, Chrom had wasted no time in sending Frederick out in search of the final gemstone of the Fire Emblem. When he had returned, he came with a message from Validar that Plegia was in possession of it, and the sorcerer king wished to present it formally. Naturally, the Yliseans had been incredibly skeptical about the meeting, but Chrom had decided to agree to the meeting with the Fire Emblem in hand, his best fighters accompanying him with everyone armed to the teeth. It seemed Pit had gotten Chrom's attention in almost every way imaginable, from his combat skill to whatever his relationship with Lucina was. Whether she was from the future or not, he still considered her his daughter and played the role of overprotective father accordingly. But the supposed archer accompanied them anyway, and Chrom had tried to keep some distance between them.

The army had stopped for the night and set up camp, and Pit bade a good night to the Ylissean princess before retiring to a tent he shared with several other men in the army. It was an interesting mix of him, Henry, an axe fighter named Vaike, and a young-looking mage named Ricken. They had rolled out their blankets and were settling in until morning, when they would be finally heading for Castle Plegia.

"Hey, Pit, what's with the undershirt?" Vaike was wondering as he sat down to inspect his axe. Pit turned around to face him once he had pulled off his armor and shirt.

"Just because you never wear a shirt doesn't mean I can't," he teased, and Vaike grinned at him as he acted like he was going to throw the axe.

"The Vaike doesn't need anything hiding these ripped muscles! He's good to go," the fighter replied. "But I was referring to its cut. Doesn't it make more sense to cover your back? What's with the whole 'around the neck and between the shoulders' stuff?"

"It's more comfortable for me," Pit shrugged. It wasn't a total lie- any other design would have interfered with his wings.

"Whatever works, I guess." With that, Vaike burped loudly, and Ricken stared at him while Henry started laughing.

"Golly, Vaike, what did you eat?" the Plegian mage asked. "Something must've crawled into your stomach! Can I see it?"

"What? No way!" Vaike scoffed. "Teach doesn't need any help for a perfect belch! You youngsters just need practice, is all."  
"I think I'll find other uses for my time, thanks!" Ricken sighed. "Like trying to figure out how to cook without burning things with my Fire tome."

"Yeah, that didn't go well," Henry giggled. "I didn't know it was possible to torch fish that fast!"

"It was an accident!" Ricken insisted. "I didn't realize I was using Elfire." Pit chucked and shook his head as he pulled his blanket over him and settled down on his side. It seemed he couldn't break his habit, even without his wings, and lying on his back simply felt strange to him.

"Try again in the morning," he suggested with a yawn. "Good night, all of you. And Vaike, please try to stifle the snoring."

"Hey!" Vaike argued, but someone blew out the lantern they had been using for light and he fell silent, save his grumbling. It didn't take long for Pit to fall into the realm of dreams.

And, oh, how he regretted shutting his eyes.

He found himself back in Skyworld, standing in front of the temple with his staff held in one hand, its handle resting on the ground. Though the skies around him seemed peaceful, and ill feeling crept over him.

Then, suddenly, Ephraim burst out from the clouds below with his wings spread wide, and he shot down a Falcon Knight that was following close behind. The clouds darkened as he sped back toward the temple, breathing heavily with blood trickling down his face.

"L-Lord Pit…" he gasped just as an arrow suddenly pierced the back of his shoulder. Strange darkness spread over the islets of the realm, and Pit was torn between forcing it back and taking care of his angel. He clenched his teeth as Ephraim pulled the arrow from his back and turned back to his ruler. "What's going on?!" Pit sighed in a brief relief that he was relatively okay and turned his attention back to the islets to confirm his fears: Risen.

"How did they get here?!" he demanded and took flight as he summoned his bow. A roar shook just about everything around him just as Grima's head appeared from the clouds below. Fear took control of Pit's body, but he fought against it and continued on his path as he readied his bow.

"This world is MINE…" Grima growled. "No one will stand in my way!" Before he could do anything else, darkness swallowed up everything around Pit, and he glanced around wildly in an attempt to find footing. He landed, but found nothing but shadow under his feet.

"Lord Pit…" he heard a voice and turned around to find, of all people, Remiel struggling to stay standing a short distance away from him. "Help me…" He was agonizingly pale and very thin, and his eyes were dull. Grima's roar sounded again as the Fell Dragon's six red eyes appeared in the darkness, and Pit felt his heart pound in his chest as he shot an arrow forth. Unfortunately, it did nothing.

"Remiel, run!" he demanded. "RUN!" But Remiel didn't appear to hear him, or was simply too shocked to do anything. Grima swatted him to the side and out of Pit's line of sight.

Finally, he heard wings rustling, and he turned to find Kuro landing at his side with his personal bow and armor at the ready. His crimson gaze glared at Grima without wavering, and Pit could see strong determination on his twin's face.

"We finish this now," he said quickly, and Pit nodded as he felt a slight bit of relief at the thought of fighting alongside his counterpart. The two of them were unstoppable when they fought together, or so just about everyone who knew them acknowledged. They both took flight and sped toward Grima, even as the Fell Dragon's roar again sounded.

"We'll hit him from both sides," Pit told his companion, who nodded. "Flank him. Confuse him. We'll see him fall!" They split up and headed for the two sides of Grima's head, both with arrows ready and glowing. Kuro released his first with Pit's following a heartbeat later, and both hit their target. Unfortunately, it seemed they had little to no effect on their opponent.

"Pitiful fools…" Grima spoke. "You do not challenge your new god!" Pit's brow furrowed as he prepared a strike of pure Light.

But it fizzled as shock and panic overtook him as he watched Grima rake his claws deep across Kuro's body, breaking through his armor as if it were made of paper, shredding one of his wings and ripping the other off entirely. The red-eyed angel didn't even have the capability to scream as he plummeted to the ground and landed with a hard thud. Pit blinked back the water stinging his eyes and refused to believe the pull in his chest that weakened something within him. His stomach heaved as he landed at his brother's side. Blood stained what was left of Kuro's clothing, and Pit couldn't bear to look at his torn muscles, his broken bones.

There was nothing left, no light in his dulled eyes, no sound from his mouth that remained slightly agape. In all of a second, he was gone. Pit's howl of grief echoed through the darkness around him as Grima paid him little heed, choosing instead to head off and destroy Skyworld as he saw fit. The god of Light cried out for his brother again and again, tears streaming down his face and choking him.

"Pit," he heard a voice from somewhere in the darkness, but he ignored it as he knelt down and cradled his brother's head in his lap. "Pit!" it came again, but he paid it no heed as his tears dripped down his cheeks. "PIT!"

He screamed until his lungs had been emptied and he gasped for air, his head whipping back and forth wildly as he searched for Grima or Kuro.

"Pit, come on, snap out of it!" He felt something shaking him and found Vaike's hands gripping his shoulders tightly. "Snap out of it!"

"WHAT is going on in here?!" Frederick demanded as he came storming into the tent. "The entire camp thinks we're under attack! Quiet down!" Pit blinked. Everything seemed like some far off echo to him, and he couldn't focus on anything but his dream. "Was it you?" Frederick continued as he stared at the archer. "Pit! Answer me!"

"I'm guessing he was having a nightmare," Henry replied. "I could probably whip up a curse to make him forget it."

"All right, let's not worry about that right now," Frederick frowned as he knelt down and looked into Pit's eyes. "Are you okay?" Pit strained himself to focus on the knight commander, and it took even more for him to find his voice.

"I need some air," he choked and got to his feet, not bothering to grab any of his possessions and ignoring the calls behind him as he left the tent and headed out into the field. He swallowed and sat down with his knees drawn up and his forehead against them until he realized his tears still hadn't stopped. He wiped his eyes as he tried to catch his breath and stop his body's trembling. He kept telling himself it was just a dream, but his pounding heart wouldn't listen, nor would the adrenaline in his veins.

After some time, he looked up to the sky and got to his feet, against his better judgment. It was probably a dumb idea, but he found he didn't care at that point. He took a deep breath and summoned his staff, trying to think back to what he had been doing around this time as he cast himself back into his true form. He spread his wings and took off for the skies, the night wind whipping around him as he flew as fast as he could without the Power of Flight to aid him.

He approached Skyworld some time later and kept low around the islets until he reached the quarters of the army's commander, captain, and a squad of Centurions. With a deep breath to help calm him down, he headed inside and crept down the hall and up the stairs on the right side at the end until he came to a set of double doors. He lifted his hand to knock, but then shook his head and slipped inside.

He found a form sleeping there on the chamber's bed, sprawled out on his front side with his wings twitching. Pit chewed his inner lip for a moment as he thought over his situation. Sure, this was Kuro. This was his twin, his reflection, his counterpart. But, strangely enough, this wasn't HIS Kuro. This was the red-eyed angel of the past, and he was of the future. The present Pit was probably asleep in his chamber within the Skyworld Temple as always, unaware of the magnitude of the wars raging in the human realm.

But, again, he didn't care. He tiptoed over to Kuro's bedside and nudged his twin's shoulder gently, feeling guilty for disturbing him for such a stupid reason, but he knew he wasn't going to calm down until he had spoken with his twin- past or future. Kuro grumbled groggily and blinked several times to open his eyes with a large, gaping yawn.

"Pit?" he mumbled and rubbed his eye. "What now?" Pit found himself robbed of his voice again, and Kuro must have taken notice as he sat up and seemed a bit more alert. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Pit finally replied. "I mean… nothing, right? I just wanted to make sure you're okay." This Kuro hadn't been torn to shreds by the Fell Dragon. He was healthy, unharmed, and in fine shape.

"I'm fine," he agreed as he rotated his shoulder. "Something's bothering you. It's written all over your face. And…" he frowned. "Something seems off about you." He paused. "…Are you really Pit?"

"What?" Pit blinked until he processed what exactly his twin was asking. He shared a deep connection with Kuro, but the Kuro of his time near twenty years in the future. This Kuro couldn't have felt that connection with him because he shared it with the Pit of the past. Even so, the future Pit didn't exactly want to bring it up. "Of course I am!" Kuro didn't seem convinced.

"Tell me something only Pit would know," he challenged, and Pit dug through his memory for something that, indeed, only he would know.

"Outside of losing someone close to you, your greatest fear is the Chaos Kin," he said, and Kuro stared at him for a moment. "You haven't been able to shake wondering what it would have done with you. Kind of like how I haven't gotten over my fear of fire." They were both silent for a moment.

"Okay, yeah, you're Pit," Kuro sighed. "And you're right. Though, my biggest fear is definitely losing you. I don't know where that would leave me!"

"And I don't want anything to happen to you," Pit agreed. "So… just keep yourself safe, okay?" Kuro nodded.

"And don't you do anything stupid, or you'll be answering to me!" Pit laughed at the remark, his relief finally becoming permanent and chasing away the terror of his nightmare.

"Right, then. Sorry for waking you." He stood up. "I'll let you sleep." Again, Kuro nodded, and the god of Light turned for the door.

"'Night, Pit," his twin called, and he smiled.

"Good night, Kuro." He left and headed back out of the quarter. Once he was sure no one was paying any attention to him, he dove off the side of the islet and headed back toward the Ylissean camp below. The sun was starting to rise by the time he landed in the fields nearby, and he hid away his robes and wings before returning to find Frederick on guard.

"THERE you are," he scolded, and Pit couldn't help but smile. "Where have you been?"

"I needed some time to think," he replied. "I'm sorry I worried everyone. I'll personally deliver my apologies to Prince Chrom once he's awake."

"Good," Frederick nodded. "Bad nightmare?"

"You could say that," he agreed. "But I'll be okay." Frederick watched him a moment longer.

"Lady Lucina would speak with you later as well," he informed the archer. "She's very worried about you. But I believe she fell back asleep after the ruckus you started. I'll commend that not everyone can manage to panic the entire camp on accident. But you have a loud voice, Pit."

"I know," Pit shrugged. "I can take over guard duty if you want. We'll be leaving soon, right?"

"Right," Frederick confirmed. "Very well. Call if you see any trouble. And I doubt you'll have difficulty with that." Pit nodded as the knight headed off, and he turned his attention back to the sky for a moment as he pondered his dream.

"Could Grima really invade Skyworld?" he mumbled. Everything in the nightmare had been so clear. Despite how much he wished he could dismiss the possibility, he couldn't deny that it may very well have been a prophecy. If they couldn't stop Grima, if he destroyed the humans and the surface, he would move onto Skyworld.

And Kuro would die.


	13. Chapter XII: Hand of Fate

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lucina insisted again as they continued on their march, and Pit snorted as he smiled.

"Yes, I'm okay," he said again. "It was just a nightmare. Though…" his smile faded. "Any thought of something happening to my brother scares me. It's that simple."

"Mm…" she nodded. "I feel the same way. I don't know what I would do without Morgan, especially if I watched him die. I would never forgive myself if I failed to protect him."

"It's… more than that," Pit admitted and lowered his voice. "Kuro and I share a bond deeper than any other, as my former…. guardian told me. He's a part of me. If something happened to him, I don't know what it would do to me." She frowned. "I'm sorry, I'm confusing you. Don't think too much about it."

"Very well."

"Lucina!" Chrom called, and they both looked up before hurrying to join the Ylissean prince up at the front of the force. Pit forced his smile to remain a straight line of indifference as Chrom eyed him with some mix of suspicion before he turned to his future daughter. He followed her gaze to the bones in the Plegian castle courtyard.

"There it sits…" she breathed, and Pit could see her shaking slightly.

"What's wrong, Lucina?" Lissa wondered, tipping her head to the side.

"The great skull," Lucina replied. "I saw it once before, when Emmeryn was sentenced to die. Even then it reminded me of… him…"

"You mean…" Chrom said gently as he came to his daughter's side.

"Yes. Grima, the fell dragon. A cataclysmic war ushered his return… it's said he fed on the souls of the fallen before turning on the living…" Pit felt a chill go down his spine as he wondered how this was affecting Nemo. Lucina seemed lost in her memories, and he could only wonder what she was reliving within her mind. After a moment, she spoke again. "Whether these are his true bones or just an effigy, I cannot say. But I know this: We cannot let that monster come back to life."

"We'll stop him, Lucina," Chrom vowed. "I promise. The future can be changed. You've proven it already. And with all of us together, we can turn the course of history."

"I want to believe that, Father," she replied. "I want to believe that, more than anything…" He nodded and turned back to his companions, giving the order to continue the march for the castle. Lucina fell back with Pit, and she sighed heavily.

"Are you sure YOU'RE okay?" he asked her, and she turned her head to glance at him as she nodded.

"I will be, as long as we can stop Grima. I…" she paused. "I was thinking about the last time I saw him. Not when we left, but… at the castle." She turned to him and smiled gently. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, Pit. Thank you. We're truly blessed that you've come to help us." He smiled sheepishly.

"I'm just glad I can help," he replied. "To tell the truth, immortality gets a bit boring after a while. Even though I wish it weren't happening, this war has given me something to do. And I'd do it all over again just to meet you." Her cheeks flushed a slight shade pink, but Chrom gave the order to enter Plegia Castle before she got a chance to say anything else.

The Ylisseans and their allies were shown in by a duo of soldiers and told to wait in the throne room, but Pit felt a sense of dread overcome him as something within him told him that they weren't alone. It seemed Rufure had taken notice as well.

"Psst!" she hissed. "Chrom?"

"Trouble?" he whispered back, and she nodded.

"I saw armed soldiers hiding in the shadows as we were shown in," she replied in a hushed voice, and Chrom sighed heavily as he, his wife, and Lucina approached the throne with their companions waiting a bit further back.

"Then it sounds like we have our answer already…" he fell silent as the sorcerer king Validar and his companion, a vixen by the name of Aversa, joined them. Pit blinked as he stared and Lucina stared at the king.

_I know you,_ Pit thought. _You were there when Emmeryn was attacked. But… Lucina said they killed you all. _The god peeked a bit closer into whatever stewed within Validar, and he found a dark presence there that was usually reserved for Nemo. Yet it was different: filled with malice, chaos, and thirst for destruction.

"Well met, milord," Aversa greeted, shaking Pit from his thoughts as he observed the parley.

"Prince Chrom! Welcome." Validar seemed hospitable enough, but Pit knew all too well that even the most warm welcome could lead to battle. He forced back a shudder at the recollection of his confrontations with both Nemo and Mastema.

"I was told you had something you wished to give me," Chrom said curtly, and Validar watched him curiously for a moment.

"My, my!" he scoffed. "No time for courtesy, milord? Such impatience…" he shook his head. "Do you really want it that badly? This concerns me. The Gemstones and the Fire Emblem can be… treacherous artifacts. A fact Plegia and the Grimleal sadly know all too well."

"'Sadly?'" Lucina echoed in disbelief. "You speak ill of when the first Exalt used them against the Fell Dragon?"

"Yes, I do, intruder!" Validar snapped.

"…Intruder?" Lucina repeated, and Pit could see all three of the Ylisseans starting to take their defensive positions.

"You are not supposed to be here," Validar growled. "You must be destroyed!" Chrom stepped forward with a furrowed brow, placing himself slightly between the sorcerer and his future daughter.

"You wouldn't dare!" he challenged, and Validar stared at him with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Give me the Fire Emblem," he ordered. "Give it to me!" Tension was practically tangible in the air, like the crackle of the air right before the first lightning strike of a raging storm.

"You mad scoundrel!" Lucina spat. "This is a declaration of war!"

"I will only ask one last time," Validar said in a low voice, ignoring her. "Give me the Emblem. Now!" Chrom met his glare with a level gaze.

"Never."

"Then this parley is over," Validar informed them. "Guards! Seize them!"

"Just as we thought…" Chrom sighed, and Rufure pulled on his arm.

"Chrom, this way! Quickly!" She, her husband, and her future daughter ran off with the other Ylisseans following as quickly as they could.

"We have to get out of here now!" Chrom ordered as they came to the main hall of the castle. "Cut down anyone who gets in the way!" Swords were unsheathed, tomes were opened, and spears were readied in the hands of their masters. Pit nocked an arrow, but didn't quite get a chance to release it as he rushed over and knocked a swordsman of their group to the side- Lon'qu, the same man Lucina had beaten to secure her place as Basilio's champion. Almost as soon as they were clear, a strange strike of dark magic bubbled up where Lon'qu had been standing.

"Long range dark magic," Rufure pursed her lips. "But where is it coming from? Everyone, be careful! We won't have any time to treat injuries until we're long away from here!" They advanced quickly, indeed cutting down anyone in their path, and Pit sidled up to the wall on the opposing side. He looked through a hole in the wall to find a sorcerer on the other side with a tome he was ready to cast.

"Found you," he smirked and pulled his arrow back, then aimed through the hole and hit the sorcerer in the chest. The tome fell to the floor along with its wielder. He readied another arrow and joined his companions as they hurried through the hall, but Plegians appeared from staircases below and assaulted them at near every turn.

"Wah!" Lissa cried as another strange cast of long range dark magic hit her, but she seemed relatively unscathed. Pit turned his attention back to the wall and found another hole, and sure enough, another sorcerer had appeared to hound them from afar. He sniped the foe and did his best to ignore the bloodshed.

"Pit, behind you!" Someone called out, and he turned just in time to be hit in the arm with an axe.

"Ow," he complained and glared at the weapon's wielder. "You know what? That wasn't very nice."

"Nice?!" the Plegian bellowed with laughter. "There ain't no 'nice' here, Ylissean!"

"I'm not an Ylissean," Pit corrected. "I'm me. The name is Pit." He pulled an arrow from his quiver as the Plegian readied his axe again, but he didn't get a chance to swing it as Pit thrust the arrow into his abdomen.

"Can't do that with arrows of light," he mumbled darkly as the Plegian fell to his knees and blood welled from his wound as he removed the arrow. He turned and sniped another sorcerer through the hole in the wall and hurried over to the Ylisseans as they forced their way through to another burly axe fighter waiting for them.

"Heh heh…" he chuckled. "Leaving Plegia so soon? No, please, stay awhile. Stay forever!" Chrom grit his teeth and pulled back Falchion.

"Say what you like," he growled. "Your end has come!" He leapt forward and brought his blade down hard, then jumped back and rushed his opponent. The axe man gurgled and moaned in pain as he fell to the ground along with the rest of his brothers-in-arms. "Almost there!" Chrom called back to his allies. "The exit is just-" he stopped short as Rufure came to his side. "Wait. Do you feel…" Before he could finish his sentence, Validar appeared from some sort of brief portal and struck Chrom with a blast of dark magic that sent the Ylissean prince to his knees, groaning.

"Run all you like- you can't escape fate," Validar chastised. "Don't you know that?"

"Father!" Lucina called as she pushed her way through, but she stopped a short distance away as the Plegian king glared at her before turning his attention back to Chrom.

"The Fire Emblem," he said bluntly. "Give it freely, or it will be taken."

"Just try it!" Chrom challenged as he attempted to get to his feet.

"Heh heh…" A sinister smile made itself known on Validar's face. "I won't need to do anything. Rufure!" Attention from almost everyone gathered there turned to the tactician as she winced and stifled a cry of pain, clutching her head tightly.

"Rufure?" Chrom called, concern for his wife evident in his voice.

"Seize the Emblem and bring it to me," Validar ordered, and Rufure's grip on her head tightened.

"Nngh…" she groaned. "No, I…" She cried out as she approached Chrom and wrenched the Fire Emblem from its place on his arm.

"Rufure, What are you doing?!" he demanded as she stumbled over to present the prize to the sorcerer king.

"Well done, my child," Validar smiled. "At last, the Fire Emblem belongs to me. And with my Gemstone, it is complete! Now, to set the Table and perform the rite…" He vanished before anyone could go after him, and Chrom again fought to get to his feet.

"Damn you, Validar!" he shouted as he stood, and Rufure shook her head and stared at her hands.

"Ah… What have I… done?!" she demanded of herself, but Chrom pulled her back to the present and forced her to look at him.

"Rufure, we must go!" he said quickly, but she simply stared at him.

"Chrom, I'm so sorry! I don't… know what came over me…" Her eyes glistened slightly as she watched her husband. "I'm so sorry!" He sighed.

"I know you are, but right now we need to focus on getting out of here." After a moment, she nodded.

"Understood." With that, the Ylisseans hurried out of the castle with Chrom at their front and Lucina following her parents closely. They continued on until Plegia Castle was nowhere to be seen and the sun was beginning to set, signaling it to be time to set up camp and rest for the night. Rufure hadn't said a word since escaping, but her guilt was evident on her face.

She, Chrom, and Frederick had assembled a short distance from the camp itself as the sunset washed its yellow-orange light over them, and Lucina watched from a distance as Pit approached her. He didn't speak, but wanted desperately to ask what was on her mind, to find out why she looked so serious and conflicted.

"What I did… It's… it's unforgivable," Rufure mumbled, and Pit could barely hear her.

"Enough of that, Rufure," Chrom said firmly. "Save your energy for helping us track him down." Rufure turned to him, but hesitated.

"No, I… You must leave me behind. He could use me again… I can't be trusted! This cursed blood in me must somehow give… my father… dominion over me…" This was news to Pit. Validar was her father?

"But he never had full control," Chrom pointed out. "You can fight it, Rufure. And if he expects you to blindly obey, that might be the surprise we need." Rufure shook her head.

"Chrom, you… you put too much faith in me."

"Get back on that horse, Rufure," Frederick told her with a small smile. "You can't give up now!"

"But you're not listening!" she insisted. "I told you, I'm not-"

"The deed is done," Chrom interrupted. "But you can still try to undo the damage. It's not too late!" Rufure sighed and remained silent for several moments longer.

"All right," she finally nodded. "I'll… I'll try." Chrom nodded and pulled her into an embrace, mumbling something Pit couldn't hear, and he turned his attention to Lucina.

"I've been around long enough to know that look," he said to her, and she turned to him. "What's on your mind?"

"I never would have guessed," she said dully. "That Mother… I…" he could hear a waver creep into her voice. "I think she's the one that killed Father in the future. Now I know that she wouldn't on her own, but Validar would order her to…" She stepped forward toward her parents, but Pit grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Promise me you won't do anything you'll regret," he said, and she turned her gaze back to him.

"I can make no such promise, Pit," she replied. "I'm sorry." He sighed and released her arm, watching in silence as she headed off to meet with her mother.

"No, I am," he mumbled. "If I hadn't waited for so long, you wouldn't have to deal with this…" He walked off a short distance and waited, watching the sun set gently toward the horizon. Time passed by at a painfully slow rate, and he heard Lucina shouting, though he couldn't make out her words. His heart clenched, but he remained standing still despite his desire to rush out to her side. There was something strange that he felt under the concern, and it confused him. It seemed somehow familiar, but vaguely, and yet it was foreign at the same time. He shook his head and tried to bury it, but doing so made his face flush.

"Well, someone looks like they've been through hell," he heard, and turned to find the voice belonging to Inigo as the swordsman and Morgan approached him. "You doing well, Pit?"

"Sure," Pit replied with a nod. "Just… thinking."

"It sure seems serious," Morgan noticed. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No, I'm okay. But thank you."

Some time later, he saw Lucina returning with both of her parents. She dipped her head and parted with them before heading to join with the others from the future, and Pit could see despair written all over her face.

"Lucina?" he said softly, and she turned to him with glistening eyes. "What happened?"

"Pray tell," Inigo agreed. "I won't have it! I want to see you smile again." She was silent until her gaze fell on her brother before her tears finally came. Pit placed his hand gently on her shoulder, and she again turned to him before she broke down and wrapped her arms tightly around him, sobbing into his chest.

"Lucina?!" Morgan demanded. "What's wrong? Wha…" he fell silent, chewing on his lip instead as Pit returned her embrace and held her tight against him. He looked up at the other boys without saying a word and found Inigo watching him with a masked glare, but he was in no mood to debate or compete with the swordsman. Inigo seemed to share the sentiment, as he sighed and shook his head.

"Come on, Morgan," he beckoned. "I think your sister needs some time to pull herself together." Pit mouthed a quick "Thank you" to him, but he only stared at the archer for a moment longer before leading a softly protesting Morgan away.

"I couldn't do it," Lucina sobbed once she was sure her brother was out of earshot. "I… I was going to kill her. My mother. But I couldn't…" her arms tightened around him, and he did the same. "I love her. Even if she is the one that takes Father from the world… I can't…" she paused. "I hope they're right when they say they can change the future."

"I'm willing to bet they can," he replied softly. "And if they can't, then we will. I promise." She pulled back and he wiped a tear from her cheek as she looked into his eyes, her own stained a slight red.

"Do you really think so?" she asked, her voice weak, and he nodded. "Perhaps… You're right, Pit. Thank you." She wiped her eyes, and he smiled gently.

"I'll let you in on a little secret too, if you'd like."

"What's that?" She tilted her head to the side.

"You said Chrom would be taken from the world. That's not true." She stared at him. "Especially for someone as strong as him. Yes, he will die- that's human nature. But he won't be lost."

"What… what do you mean?" she wondered, and he pointed to her chest.

"You, me, Chrom, Rufure… we all have souls. While the weak may eventually fade away, most move onto the Underworld and are reincarnated or used somehow. They're rarely truly lost. So, no matter what, some part of your father will still remain." She smiled gently and hugged him again, more gently this time.

"I see, I think. Thank you, Pit."

"Of course, Lucina. You can always come to me, okay? I want to help you. And I want you to be happy, if there's any way I can help that too."

"I admit one good thing came out of all this," she smiled. "I'm glad I got to meet you, Pit. Once all this is over, I hope we can still spend this time together." He said nothing else, but felt a pang of regret within him. When all this was over, he would be returning to Skyworld. There was nothing he could do to change that.


	14. Chapter XIII: Darkness

Lucina had not shown even a trace of a smile in the days that followed, the revelations that had come to light weighing heavily on her heart and mind. The Grimleal had the complete Fire Emblem, meaning Grima's return was imminent. Her mother, even if not on her own whim, was and would be the one to kill Chrom. The odds of averting their apocalyptic future were slimming with every passing moment. This knowledge seemed to be weighing on Inigo as well, as he'd lost most of his funny-guy nature as they marched for the Dragon's Table- the only lead they had from what Validar had said before disappearing. Morgan had lost a decent amount of his optimism, but he still tried to smile for his sister and parents.

There was a disturbingly dark force in the air that Pit could sense, and it sent a chill down his spine as they drew closer to their destination. They were running out of the extra time Naga had given them, and he couldn't help but wonder if this army was capable of defeating a revived Grima. He couldn't help but notice that he'd been feeling a bit weaker since they had arrived in this time, and the only explanation he could come up with was that the Pit of the past held the power of Light in this time. It wasn't something his future self could tap into easily.

As they approached what apparently housed the Dragon's Table, Chrom's army ran into a large group of travelers heading in the same direction as the skies above them darkened. They moved as a group, never straying from the path they were on, and something about them worried Pit deeply.

"All these strange travelers…" Chrom pondered. "What's happening here?"

"Let's ask 'em!" Lissa suggested as she approached one. "Um, excuse me, sir? …Sir?"

"…The appointed… time…" the man she asked mumbled. "To the Dragon's… Table… Our prayers… Grima…" Lissa stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Riiiiiight… I'll just be backing away slowly then…" she did so before hurrying back to her brother as Frederick came running up to his liege.

"Sire!" he beckoned urgently, and Chrom turned to him.

"Frederick! Have the scouts returned?"

"Yes, milord," Frederick nodded. "And with grim news. Validar has indeed moved to a great altar to Grima known as the Dragon's Table. What's more, it seems all the Grimleal in Plegia are headed there as well. It's as if they're being drawn by some unseen force…"

"Any idea what it all means?" Chrom asked, and Frederick shook his head.

"Who can say, sire? They speak only gibberish and plod on as if possessed."

"The cataclysm in Lucina's future…" the Ylissean prince mumbled. "This shows all the signs of leading to it. Damn! This destiny is a stubborn business…" Pit smirked and shook his head, knowing all too well the truth of his words.

"We cannot give up," Lucina urged, her fear barely masked on her face.

"And we will not," her father agreed. "We make for this Dragon's Table, and quickly! Come, everyone!" The Ylisseans picked up their pace ahead of the hobbling Grimleal with weapons being unsheathed and tomes opened. As they approached the entrance to the altar, they slowed down and Chrom turned back to his companions. "Alright, listen up! I want a small team with me to get back the Emblem. The rest of you, see if you can't slow down these travelers. I don't know what Grima will do with them once they get there, and I'd rather not find out! But don't hurt them. Just see if you can deter them!" Shouts of agreement sounded from the assembled army and most began to head back for the approaching Grimleal. Pit started to head off to join them, but it was Lucina's turn to grab his arm.

"What?" he wondered as she watched him urgently. "What is it?"

"P-Please, Pit," she stammered. "I have to stay with Father and I need you with me. Don't leave me." As he observed the almost childish pleading in her eyes, he smiled softly and nodded.

"Very well," he replied. "I need to have a talk with Validar anyway." She sighed softly in relief and let go of his arm.

"Thank you." With that, they both hurried to catch up with Chrom as they headed for the entrance, but it wasn't without a guard. Aversa and Validar both stood in front of it, and twelve Risen could be seen scattered about the courtyard. Something about them seemed different from the usual Risen. Pit could sense strong, corrupted spirits within them and the weapons they brandished looked nothing short of lethal. Chrom hurried forth with a furrowed brow and grit teeth.

"Validar!" he yelled, and Validar scowled at him.

"Fools!" the sorcerer scoffed. "Do you know where you've come?"

"Return the Fire Emblem now, and we can end this!" Chrom replied, ignoring the question. Validar simply started laughing.

"You would… end this?" he smiled darkly.

"Yes," Chrom said firmly. "Once and for all."

"My dear boy, we already know how this story ends," Validar pointed out. "You and I both! And yet you rush here… Are you so eager to meet the Fell Dragon yourself? Or perhaps your own fatal destiny- you would have that realized first? Ha ha!"

"To hell with your destiny," Chrom spat. "I'll write a new ending."

"Oh ho ho…" Aversa chuckled. "So now you elieve you can change fate? And here I thought your Exalted sister had delusions of grandeur."

"We're done it already," Chrom said, and Aversa smiled at him.

"Your victory over sad little Gangrel? Or perhaps Walhart's defeat? Those were meant to happen. They were preordained. You are just another fool in motley, capering on the stage!"

"But… What about Emmeryn?!" Lissa demanded, and Aversa turned her attention to the princess.

"You changed only the method of her death. Either way, she was planted in the ground…"

_Did I… not do enough? _Pit wondered, thinking back to when he had encountered the Exalt. _Or are they just lying? _

"But that was Gangrel's will," Frederick recalled. "Not yours… Not Validar's…"

"You aren't listening," Aversa sighed. "All of this- every word and action- has been orchestrated. Gangrel held the Exalt in contempt, yes, so Validar and I used him. In life AND death. The king's demise threw Plegia into chaos. It drove the people to Grima… Now their life force and rancor can be laid before the Fell Dragon en masse."

"I will never allow that to happen!" Chrom yelled, and Aversa shook her head.

"But it already HAS happened in our future. This moment was set a millennium ago."

"How could anyone give their life willingly to that… thing? That monster!" Lucina inquired, her hands clenched into fists and sweat visible on her forehead.

"I will stop you!" Chrom called out. "I will stop Grima!"

"Goodness!" Aversa laughed. "Now you're starting to sound like Walhart, the big bully… He intended to destroy Grima as well, you know. Our thanks, incidentally, for taking him off the stage for us." Chrom blinked and grit his teeth.

"Rrgh… That's why you gave us your ships and treasure but no soldiers… Get rid of Walhart, but keep the faithful Plegians to set your god's Table…"

"Grima is not a god," Pit mumbled. "I'll be damned to the deepest pits of the Underworld before I see him become one."

"Aversa," Validar said as he turned to his servant. "It is time. I must prepare."

"As you command, Master," Aversa nodded.

"Validar!" Chrom yelled, anger evident in his voice. "VALIDAR!" But the sorcerer ignored him and disappeared, bound for the Table.

"Master Validar is not to be disturbed," Aversa went on as she turned back to the Ylisseans. "But fear not, I have brought the Deadlords to keep you entertained. These twelve generals were great warriors in life… and even greater, now, in death! I would introduce them one by one, but well, as you'll see, they're not much for talk. Besides, you'll meet them all soon enough!"

"Great," Chrom growled. "Come on, everyone. Get into position! We take out these Deadlords or whatever and stop Validar no matter what it takes!" A black Pegasus descended from around the Table and Aversa mounted it as she readied a dark tome, and she gave the command for her Deadlords to begin to move.

"Chrom," Rufure beckoned as she readied her blade. "These Deadlords seem to have powerful weapons and tomes. If we could get a hold of them without wearing down their durability, they would be great assets to us against whatever we end up fighting later."

"Good point," Chrom nodded. "To the victor go the spoils, as they say. You hear that, everyone? Don't let these weapons go to waste! They won't need them where they're going!"

"Can a soul this corrupted be anything but destroyed?" Pit wondered softly as he nocked an arrow. "What else could it possibly be used for?" He sighed. "This is too much. The entire Celestial Balance is about to be overthrown… How could I have been so blind?"

"Pit!" He looked up at Lucina's beckoning. "Come on. We have to move quickly!"

"Right behind you!" He followed close behind her as she hurried forth with Falchion at the ready, and she slashed through the nearest Deadlord. It rocked back, howling, but swung its weapon quickly at her. It stopped, however, as it found an arrow lodged in its shoulder, and Lucina leapt out of the way before finishing it with another strike. It slumped to the ground and dissipated, leaving behind its axe.

"It certainly looks powerful," she muttered as she picked it up. "Father is right. These would be incredibly helpful later on. Especially if Grima does return…"

"Don't talk like that," Pit told her. "We'll stop this, alright? Our future will NOT come to pass."

"I want to believe that," Lucina replied. "But the longer it takes, the more time passes, and now that Validar has the Fire Emblem… I can't help but doubt our ability."

"Then I'm going to keep fighting until they either strike me down or we win," he vowed. "Nothing less."

"As will I," she agreed. "And that starts with us finishing off that witch." They both turned their attention to Aversa as she observed the battle with a cruel smile on her face. Pit frowned, however, as a strange sense reached him. It was dark, powerful, and filled with anger and malice.

"No…" he mumbled. "It can't be Grima… can it?"

"What?" Lucina asked, but he shook his head and sniped an approaching horseman wielding an impressive-looking lance. Lucina rushed forward and finished it off with a strong attack from Falchion. She followed Pit's gaze back to Aversa and watched the Dark Flier with a puzzled look. "Pit… what is that?"

"I'm not sure," he replied as he observed the darkness below her.

"ENOUGH!" a voice shouted as a form burst forth from the darkness and struck Aversa, knocking her off her Pegasus and stunning her for a moment. While Lucina watched with a gaping expression, Pit smiled. The form landed with his feet on the ground, his hand outstretched toward the Grimleal, dark power rippling around it. His silver hair rustled in the winds that picked up his dark navy scarf, and his red eyes burned with anger.

"Well, well, who might you be?" Aversa grunted as she got back to her feet.

"Are you the one commanding these… these abominations?" he asked curtly.

"Is that… Henry?" Lucina wondered as she blinked.

"Did I hear my name?" Henry wondered from a short distance away as he dodged a magic attack courtesy of a Sage of the Deadlords.

"Okay, I guess not," she mumbled as she looked from him back to the newcomer.

"You could say that," Aversa replied. "You don't have to play rough, dear. Your death will come soon enough."

"You've abused the Darkness of the world, thrown off the Balance of Life and Death, and summoned these unnatural beings to a world they will never belong in. Not to mention I don't like people trying to take my job."

"Your job?" Aversa scoffed. "Dear boy, run along. Unless you're here to swear your undying loyalty to the Fell Dragon, then I have no use for you."

"Very well." With that, he shot forth a blast of Darkness that knocked Aversa off her feet and sent her hard against the ground. "I'll leave you alive for now, you pathetic vixen."

"Ooh… you play rough," she chuckled. "But the ritual has already begun."

"Then go tell your master that I'm coming to have a word with him. And be sure to let him know that your precious Grima is not a god. I'll make sure of that." She disappeared in a cast of magic, and the newcomer sighed as the Ylisseans finished off the remaining few Deadlords.

"Damn!" Chrom swore. "She escaped. Hey, you!" he called out to the newcomer. "Why'd you let her go?!" The newcomer turned around and crossed his arms.

"There was no point in killing her," he replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go have a word with Validar."

"Wait!" Chrom called, hurrying to join him in front of the entrance. "If you're against Validar, then come with us. You'll get yourself killed in there if you go alone, even with whatever power you have."

"I will not fall so easily, Chrom of Ylisse," he replied. "I don't have time to waste here. Now, if you'll excuse me…" He dipped his head and started for the entrance, but Chrom wasn't finished with the conversation.

"Listen to me, will you? We have a common goal. Wouldn't it make more sense for you to join with us? No matter how confident you are in your ability, it'd be better if you were part of a group so someone can watch your back, right?" The newcomer sighed and turned back to the prince.

"I don't need you slowing me down, and you're doing so right now. It was poor judgment on my part to wait this long as it is. And I-" He fell silent as he looked past Chrom and found a certain archer waving his arms and shaking his head before beckoning for him to join them. He frowned for a moment before sighing. "But perhaps I am being hasty. And you are of Exalted blood, so I suppose you have the best chance of anyone around here at surviving."

"Uh… thanks?" Chrom blinked. "Welcome to the army, I guess. What's your name?"

"Nemo," the newcomer replied. "Let's hope you and I can bring an end to this, Prince Chrom." Chrom nodded before turning back to his companions.

"Rest for a few and tend to any injuries you have. But as soon as we're able, we go to the Dragon's Table!" He stayed at the entrance as Rufure, Frederick, and Lissa joined him, and Pit followed the new recruit over to the side with a smile on his face.

"I didn't expect to see you here," he greeted, and Nemo stared at him with pursed lips.

"I could say the same to you, especially since I was all but sure you were in Skyworld. But you look like you've been here for quite some time."

"Oh, I am up in Skyworld," Pit chuckled, though he fell silent as Nemo scowled at him and grabbed his collar.

"I am NOT in the mood for jokes, Pit," he growled. "What have you been doing? The Underworld is in chaos and Remiel… I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's ill. He's feverish, paler than usual, and breaking a cold sweat. I can barely keep up a conversation with him, and he keeps mumbling all this gibberish about his brother." Pit pulled his companion's hands away and backed up a pace.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied. "But look, I've been wondering the same thing. You see that blue-haired girl over there?"

"I saw her immediately," Nemo nodded. "But I'm confused. She has the same soul as Chrom's child."

"That's because she is Chrom's child," Pit explained. "She came from the future- one where Grima is resurrected and the Overworld is basically destroyed. I came back with her. I'm not the Pit of this time- I'm him from about seventeen years from now." Nemo stared at him before sighing heavily.

"I see. And you've been posing as an archer to help them without revealing your true self. I suppose I should do the same."

"I'm guessing that's why you hid the streaks in your hair," Pit noticed, and Nemo nodded.

"Right. But at least these humans seem to use dark magic. And frankly, I don't care if they know who I am. I-"

"I'm doing this because of our bargain," Pit interrupted, earning a stare. "I could have just finished Grima off before- or, at least, I like to think I could. But I wanted to see if the humans could truly defend themselves and bring back peace. That's what you wanted."

"Humans started this," Nemo reminded him, and he nodded. "But I see what you mean. So you're saying it's best not to intervene as gods unless absolutely necessary."

"Right," Pit agreed. "So will you join me?"

"Fine. But I feel like I'm losing control, Pit. Validar and Grima, their whole Grimleal lot, have been drawing on my power and tipping it. Strange as it is to say and though it shames me to admit, I feel like I'm losing what makes me who I am- especially because of the Risen."

"All the more reason we need to stop them. And we will, Nemo. Especially if you and I can work together." Nemo nodded.

"Then we will, Pit. Let's restore this world to the way it's meant to be." He fell silent as his gaze passed Pit's shoulder, and the god of Light could see confusion in his eyes. "Uh, Pit? Did I come back with you too?"

"You mean from the future? No. Why do you ask?"

"Then… who's that?" the lord of the Underworld wondered, pointing toward a certain sorcerer among the Ylissean ranks.

"His name's Henry," Pit replied. "He's technically from Plegia, but I guess he's got a thing for death or something like that. He's a little scary, but a good guy- I think. Looks a lot like you, doesn't he?"

"Indeed, he does…" Nemo agreed absentmindedly. "Pit… do you… sense something different about him?"

"I thought I did," Pit nodded. "Like… there's light in him, if that's what you mean. It's hard to find and dormant, but it's there. The darkness in him is a lot stronger. Almost chaotic."

"Just as Remiel said… Order and Chaos…"

"Nemo? You okay?"

"I… Excuse me, Pit." Before Pit could protest, Nemo hurried off to go speak with the Plegian dark mage.

"I'm going to guess you know him?" Lucina said as she approached Pit, and he nodded.

"He's an old friend," he replied. "I wonder what's gotten into him…"

"They look an awful lot alike," she noticed. "It's almost scary." Pit nodded again before turning to her.

"Well, whatever. We've got other things to worry about, huh? Let's go get ready to stop a Fell Dragon from coming back."


	15. Chapter XIV: Resurrection

**Author's Note: **Good lord, this is late. Sorry about the wait, everyone, but I've been incredibly busy over the past couple of months. But here's my apology gift to you: Double update! Once you get through this chapter, the next one should be available as well. And I'll try not to wait two months to upload the next one/batch.  
Anyway, enjoy!  
Also, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm loving sarcastic Nemo here.

* * *

After their reprieve that had been all too short, the Shepherds cautiously stepped into the spire of the Dragon's Table. It was strangely quiet, considering the events that seemed about to take place. But both Pit and Nemo were visibly tense, on edge, and ready to spring at a moment's notice. There was an ominously dark presence somewhere inside that Pit could only relate to Medusa from so long ago, but even she hadn't been this chaotic. No, this was much worse. They were right on the doorstep of Grima's resurrection, and Pit could only wonder if there was any chance of stopping it.

After a brief stall for Chrom to discuss the coming encounter with Rufure, they entered a large room whose roof was supported by pillars, not unlike some of the structures up in Skyworld. With the lord and tactician in the lead, the Shepherds approached the Dragon's Table itself where Validar stood as he neared the completion of his preparations.

"Validar!" Chrom called out, anger straining his voice. Validar smiled darkly as his gaze swept over the Shepherds before coming to rest straight on Rufure.  
"Chrom," Validar replied, "Come to witness the glorious culmination of your failure? How nice." He stepped to the side and gestured to the altar. "I have the Fire Emblem and the Dragon's Table is set for a feast. I will return Grima to this world!"

"Validar..." Lucina hissed under her breath like a curse as her father's hands clenched into fists.  
"You'll DESTROY the world!" he argued, desperation creeping into his voice. "Lucina has seen it!" Validar's gaze drifted to the future princess, his face unreadable.  
"Then I pray today's spectacle lives up to her nightmares!" he taunted, and Pit could easily sense Lucina's grief, anger, and fear. "The Awakening rite is not only for Exalts and Naga, you know. With it, I'll arouse Grima!"  
"Yet another reason not to trust these sorts of 'rites' or whatever," Pit mumbled.  
"The Fell Dragon needs only a mortal vessel," Validar went on, "Which you so kindly brought along..." There was silence for a moment.

"...Oh, gods," Rufure huffed. "He means me."  
"You ken quickly, Rufure," Validar agreed. "That's my girl." Rufure scowled at the sorcerer, her face flushed.  
"No!" she yelled. "Never! I'll die first!"

"You carry my blood," Validar pointed out. "The blood of the Fell Dragon. His soul slumbers within you. And now the time has come to awaken you both!" Again, silence reigned over the Shepherds until Rufure finally gave voice to her epiphany.

"Wh-what?! I'M Grima?" Disbelief weighed her voice down. "I'M the Fell Dragon?!"  
"Seriously?" Pit said under his breath, and Nemo merely nodded.  
"Yet another way that the Grimleal have thrown off my power and are stealing my place in this world. They bred Rufure with Grima's soul even without my influence." He sighed. "But they did lead me to return Marth's soul to the world. I knew his influence would be needed again to fight the Fell Dragon."  
"Wait... you reincarnated the Hero King?" Pit blinked, and Nemo's gaze shifted to Lucina for a moment. "Wait, wait, wait. Lucina actually IS Marth?"  
"No," Nemo shook his head. "She is Lucina above all else. But Marth is a part of her spirit, which is why she is so much like him. Marth himself is dead- you know that. But I couldn't let the strength of his soul go to waste, and I gave it to Lucina. She needed it."  
"So, above all, she really is Lucina. She's her own person," Pit clarified. Again, Nemo nodded.

"Yes."  
"I know not of your life thereafter," Validar was saying once the gods tuned back into the conversation. "But all that matters is your return. That you are here is PROOF of your purpose! It is why you still draw breath!" At Rufure's visible disturbance and denial, Chrom turned to her.  
"Rufure... We are going to stop this. This can be stopped. YOU can be stopped!"  
"You may have killed me in some future past," Validar began.  
"Exhibit B," Nemo sighed.  
"But I am stronger this time!" Validar went on. "With the power of the Dragon's Table flowing through me, I am unstoppable."  
"You're not the only one who's stronger this time!" Chrom challenged. Right, Rufure?" But Rufure didn't reply. "...Rufure?"  
"...Nngh..." she groaned, and panic briefly flickered on her husband's face.  
"Stay with me, Rufure! You're not beholden to this fiend! You can fight it! We've all seen how strong you are! We've seen what you're capable of! Don't let him shake your resolve!" Rufure turned weakly to look at him.

"C-Chrom... I don't know..."  
"Enough!" the sorcerer demanded. "This sorry display ill befits the heir to our master's power." Pit almost smirked at the sound of Nemo's snort next to him. "And you, Prince- your sad poem sounds lovely, but it will not alter your destiny."  
"They're more than just words!" Rufure argued, and Validar glared at him.  
"Be still now, my daughter..."

"My life did not begin with you," she continued, ignoring him. "It began the day Chrom found me in that field. I have been all over this world, and I have helped changed it- for the better. I have fought and laughed and bled with my friends, and THAT is what matters! The ties we forged, the bonds we share- they are of a power greater than Grima."

"A ludicrous idea," Validar scoffed. "As you will know better than anyone soon enough."

"We do agree on one thing," Rufure said, "My life so far has all been in preparation for this moment: When I kill you or die trying!" Despite her conviction, Validar only laughed.

"You have your father's courage, but your mother's judgment," he chastised. "Very well, pup. Come! Do your worse! Come at me with all you have! There is no damage I can do your body that the Fell Dragon cannot repair!" With that, a strange magical barrier projected into place, cutting off any access to Chrom, Rufure, or their enemy. The rest of the Shepherds, along with Pit and Nemo, remained on the other side as an army of Grimleal came charging in, ready for a bloody battle to the death.  
"This ought to be fun," Pit grumbled as he prepared his bow. He turned to find Lucina with an evident face of fear and grief as she watched her parents as best she could through the barrier. "Lucina!" he called out, shaking her from her thoughts. "They'll be okay. But if you don't focus, then these misled Grimleal will finish you." She turned to him and, biting her lip, nodded. He turned and released the arrow, aimed at an axe man barreling at them. The arrow lodged itself in his throat and he went down quickly. A shaft of darkness exploded around another Grimleal nearby, but Nemo wasted little time watching his target fall before he moved onto the next one.  
"Your friend there is like a demon," Lucina mumbled as she took up her stance next to him.  
"Well, he rules the land of the dead," Pit replied once she had run her blade through another assailant. "But he's actually a pretty decent guy when he's not ticked off. But I'll tell you more about that later." She nodded as they resumed the fight, and it confused him when Nemo caught his eye and pointed toward the barrier. Pit followed his gesture until he found Validar collapsed on the ground and Rufure stumbling while Chrom doted over her.  
That is, until she stabbed him with what seemed to be a crackling bolt of magic.  
Chrom mumbled something before collapsing to the ground, and Rufure only stood there.  
"N-No..." Pit breathed as Nemo fought through the Grimleal to approach him. "That... Chrom can't be..." His gaze diverted to Lucina just as she caught a glimpse of the scene. Her cry of anguish wrenched his heart as she raced over to the barrier, dodging the Grimleal that attempted to stop her.  
"No... Father!" she cried out. "No!" Validar rose from his place on the ground and eyed the future princess.  
"With the five Gemstones in hand, my magic knows no bounds," he taunted. "Rufure is powerless to resist me. Do you see now, Daughter? Human bonds are leaves in the wind. They offer you nothing." Rufure said and did nothing.  
"This can't be happening," Lucina pleaded. "We were supposed to change this! Everything I have done is... worthless..." Pit lowered his head until he felt Nemo poking him, and he looked at his companion as the lord of the Underworld pointed again at Chrom.  
"What?!" he hissed under his breath. Nemo's near smirk angered him.  
"The hell it was!" a voice yelled, and Lucina glanced around to find Basilio approaching her from the side before any of the Grimleal could stop him. "Don't you put any stock in this destiny hogwash," he scolded. "Let the dead whine about their fate. As long as I draw breath, I choose to keep fighting! That's what life is all about!"

"Wait, Basilio?!" Pit blinked as he stared at the Khan. "He's alive? Or did you bring him back?" he asked of his companion. Nemo shook his head.  
"He played dead, Pit. And Validar didn't know to look after a dead man. He's been playing a pivotal part in Rufure's plans to keep the five orbs of the Fire Emblem safe. The ones Validar has? Not real." Again, Pit blinked and looked back at Validar.  
"So he didn't have the completed Fire Emblem. But what does it matter if Chrom is dead?"

"Look again, Pit. That's what I'm trying to tell you." Pit did as he was told. Chrom looked dead, wasn't moving, didn't even twitch. But on closer inspection, looking past what the physical eye could see, he found something. His soul remained, his life force tethered to his body.  
"He's alive..." he said under his breath, and Nemo smiled and nodded.  
"That's not possible!" Validar was yelling after Basilio had told him everything. "These have to be... they must be..."  
"Why? Because of... DESTINY?" Basilio let out a thick, hardy laugh. "Rufure had your destiny beat days ago when she came up with this plan. The expression on your face... it makes all those long nights in hiding worth it! Hah!"  
"Damn you!" Validar shouted, his words echoing around the spire. "Damn you to all the hells!"  
"I'll just send them back," Nemo said with and entirely straight face, and Pit fought hard to contain his laughter.  
"None of this matters!" Validar went on. "Chrom is dead! Your fates sealed! Grima will- Eh?" At that point, Rufure decided to move. She struck Validar with a bolt of magic as Chrom got to his feet. He was shaky, but alive and standing.

"Father!" Lucina cried. "You're... you're alive!"  
"Rufure spared me..." Chrom said as he winced. Spared, he may have been, but he was still injured. "She weakened her magic... just before the strike..." Rufure said nothing, guilt still evident on her face for attacking her husband. Validar only shouted for the heavens.  
"Damn you all and your stones!" he yelled. "I won't need them to kill you!"  
"Ready to end this, Rufure?" Chrom asked of his wife, and she smiled a bit as he readied Falchion and she her tome.  
"Let's do it," she agreed. "I'm ready to see what our true future has in store."  
"We will," her husband promised. "Now. Together." At that, the barrier standing between them shattered and Validar disappeared briefly, only to reappear in a different spot as he yelled some order to his Grimleal. Flavia joined her fellow Khan on the battlefield, and they spoke with Chrom and Rufure briefly before the four of them rejoined they fray.  
"This ends now," Nemo growled and turned to Pit. "Are you with me on this?" Pit smiled a bit and nodded.  
"Let's show him the truth of light and darkness." He chuckled. "Lucina'll be okay now that she's gotten things sorted out with Chrom and Rufure. Let's get him."

"Quite." Nemo rather quickly cleared a path as they scurried through the battle, the Shepherds still fighting back the Grimleal with a renewed resolve. Pit took a deep breath and drew and arrow from his quiver, focusing in his power to it. He had no qualms for killing this sorcerer. His maniacal ambitions had to end, and both Pit and Nemo were determined to be death's messengers.  
"Validar!" Nemo yelled as they came into range. Validar stared at them quizzically.  
"You have such dark power within you," the sorcerer noticed. "You will make a fine sacrifice to my master!"  
"Not today," Pit replied. "This is the day you meet judgment, you scrap of Skuttler waste." He knew the insult was wasted on their enemy, but, frankly, he didn't care.  
"I'm so sick of you," Nemo continued. "You and your Grimleal in this attempt to resurrect the Fell Dragon, you've thrown everything off balance. You're leeching away my power and usurping my position in this world. You claim to know darkness." He grit his teeth for a moment. "Validar, I want you to know something."

"And what's that?" Validar inquired dryly.

"I AM Darkness!" Nemo snapped, and Pit prayed the sound of battle around them would drown out his revelation. "I am the master of Darkness in this world- I am its Oracle, its god. I am the lord of the Underworld, ruler of the land of the dead, and I will not rest until every scrap of your pathetic soul has suffered." He paused and took a deep breath. "But first... consider yourself honored, swine. You will be escorted to the Underworld's gates by its master. I will personally see you there." Validar stared at him for a moment before he started laughing, though it sounded labored.  
"You speak of the lands of myth? You know nothing! You spit gibberish, boy."

"No, he's telling the truth," Pit spoke up. "Wanna know how I know that? I'm the god of Light. And I'm kind of tired of you trying to overthrow both of us. 'Cause, you see, we kind of have a deal. I prove humans are capable of peace and he doesn't blow up the world. But right now, neither of us like you. So you get to die first."  
"I-Impossible..." Validar mumbled. "No... I will prove your lies. You cannot hope to defeat me! I serve the greatest god. I serve Grima!"  
"Very well..." Nemo sighed, and Pit could sense the anger and darkness boiling within him as he prepared his strike. "So it will be, Validar. Let me show you true Darkness!" He struck quickly, whips and streams of pure darkness striking his target and seemingly ripping him apart. Even this great sorcerer king couldn't suppress his cries of pain and agony. Nemo was not being merciful. And yet, when it faded, Validar still remained standing- albeit struggling, and Nemo eyed his companion before tilting his head toward the sorcerer. Pit nodded and pulled back his arrow.  
"My turn. See you in the Underworld!" He released the arrow, streams of light trailing around and behind it, and it struck Validar straight in the chest.  
"No..." Validar choked once he had fallen to the ground, never to rise again. "All... wrong..." He paused a moment. "Why... Why would you squander your birthright... Rufure, my daughter..." His garbled words died along with him, and Pit stared at his body for several moments longer before he sighed in relief.  
"We did it!" Chrom called out. "We did it, Rufure! We've altered our destiny!" His excitement died down a bit as the realization hit him. "We... We've won." Lucina hurried over and hugged her father, mindful of his injuries, before she turned and did the same to her mother. But before they could regroup, a strange figure appeared before taking on Rufure's appearance as darkness around it faded.  
"You!" Rufure spat, taking a defensive stance.  
"Okay, what's going on?" Pit demanded. These two looked exactly alike. But there was such strong darkness in the newcomer- darkness he could swear he had encountered before.  
"I... no... I thought I was wrong," Nemo mumbled.  
"What?" Pit wondered, and the silver-haired god turned to him.  
"I thought I had been wrong when I sensed two of Rufure. It didn't make sense. And this one..." His eyes widened and blanked for a moment.  
"Nemo!" Pit grabbed his shoulders. "What is it? WHAT IS IT?!"

"...Grima..." And with that word, Pit was taken back- or forward- to his encounter with the Fell Dragon when he had saved Lucina. The chaotic darkness he had identified within Grima was quite similar, if not the same, as the one in this stranger.  
"Oh no..."

"You may have altered the course of history," the stranger spoke, "But not it's destination."  
"What do you mean?" Rufure demanded.  
"It is still written that Chrom died here at your hands. Or, perhaps to be more precise... mine."  
"Who are you, really?!" Chrom asked rather forcefully.  
"I told you. I'm Rufure. The Rufure that murdered you and became the Fell Dragon, Grima." It paused and looked at Lucina. "When this 'Marth' of yours decided to come back in time... I came with her."

"Another version of me?" Rufure said in disbelief. "But how..." The stranger sighed heavily, almost mockingly.  
"I can be so daft sometimes," it went on. "It's really quite simple. I am you. Our only difference is the decisions we've made... Those vivid dreams you have- those are my memories. We share those memories because we share the same heart: Grima's heart."  
"Th-the headaches," Rufure realized. "The voices... It was you!"  
"Your recollection begins the day I entered this world. I intended for us to unite then, the first moment I found you. But your heart was still too weak to contain Grima's power... The shock of the attempt wiped your memory clean." They both remained silent for a moment. "I knew if Lucina managed to rewrite history, Grima would never be resurrected. And I, in turn, would cease to exist. So I have to step in, now and again, to keep my future secured. Like when Validar was killed in his attempt to assassinate Emmeryn..." Nemo's anger was nearly tangible from his place at Pit's side. "But that is in the past, now. We have our future past to think of. All that remains is for you to become Grima, as I did. Then you and I will become as one, and we can reclaim my power."  
"We are not yet the same?" Rufure wondered, and the stranger shook its head.  
"You were supposed to choose godhood over your pathetic band of servants. But if you'll not claim the sacrifice laid at the Dragon's Table, I will claim it in your place!"  
"Not good," Pit said quickly, and Nemo nodded in agreement. "This is going to get ugly fast. We need to contain this..."  
"But what is 'this?'" Nemo inquired. "What the heck is going on?" As if in an answer, a dark aura appeared around the stranger, and a chill of fear washed through Pit's body as it started laughing almost maniacally.  
"The Fell Dragon and I are one!" it bellowed. "And though my journey through time has diminished my power, the life force here shall renew me!"

"Okay, time to go!" Chrom said quickly, and the Shepherds followed his example as he and Rufure hurried off just as the stranger began to glow in an eerie light.  
"I don't know how much we can do," Nemo said quickly, and he yelped as the spire began to shake and pieces began to rain down from above. "We need to get out of here!" Pit nodded and followed him quickly out of the Dragon's Table as lightning filled the sky and a terrible roar sounded, hurting his ears.  
"No..." Pit mumbled once they were outside.

"THAT'S Grima?!" Nemo demanded as they both craned their necks to stare at the colossal dragon. "How does anything get that big?!"  
"I don't have the power to fight that thing," Pit admitted. "How could I be such an idiot?! How did I not realize what was happening?"

"Now's not the time!" Nemo hissed. "The best you and I can do at this point is protect Chrom and his band. I hope Rufure still has another plan up her sleeves."

They again hurried off and rejoined the Shepherds, and every one of them was staring at the Fell Dragon's form in the sky.  
"The terrible size of it..." Frederick was saying. "Gods! For once the legends spoke true. We can't face him, not in straight battle. He'd kill us all!"  
"If only we had the Fire Emblem," Chrom said wistfully. "We could ask Naga for her power. Then, at least, we'd have a chance."

"But Validar took the Emblem!" Lissa pointed out.  
"And it was lost inside the Dragon's Table," Chrom sighed. "I know."

"What," Rufure grinned. "You mean THIS Fire Emblem?" She pulled it from her coat and presented it to her dumbfounded husband.  
"The Emblem! But... how?"

"I stole it from you once, remember? The least I could do was steal it back." Her words earned a smile from her husband.  
"Rufure, you sly cat. You never cease to amaze. Quickly now! We must complete the Awakening before Grima catches on!"  
"It's said the first Exalt paid tribute to Naga at a site on Mount Prism," Frederick informed his lord.  
"Do you know where, exactly?  
"Yes. There is an altar at the peak of the mountain. If milord would perform the Awakening, it must be done there."

"A small hope is better than no hope at all," Chrom agreed. "Hurry, everyone!" They began a fast march for Mount Prism, even as Grima again roared in the skies above them.  
"Déjà vu, huh?" Pit said once he'd managed to catch up to Lucina, and she turned to him with fear in her eyes.  
"I hope Naga can do more for Father than she did for us," she replied. "Now, I fear all she managed to do was let us see our world destroyed a second time."


	16. Chapter XV: Coming Clean

**Author's Note: **I'm just going to say it now: Hot Spring Scramble? Couldn't resist it. It's a FExKI story, after all.  
And if you didn't read the little description of this story, then you'll probably think this is a weird chapter. But I warned you! At least it's finally out.

* * *

Grima's resurrection weighed heavily on the Shepherds and their allies, casting a shadow of despair over them. Fighting the Fell Dragon seemed nearly impossible now, and Pit truly feared he lacked the energy and power to challenge their foe even in his true form.

"How could I be so blind...?" he'd demanded of himself once again as they marched. What they hadn't been expecting, however, was to suddenly run into a merchant with every intention of speaking to Chrom about some undisclosed matter.

"Must be another of Anna's sisters," someone had mumbled, causing something of a chuckle to pass through the army.

"So you're Prince Chrom, eh?" the merchant had greeted almost gleefully. "I'm glad I finally found you! Traveling between dimensions is such tiring work, you know!"

"Excuse me?" Chrom had demanded, but the merchant had provided no explanation.

"Details," she'd scoffed. "Okay, okay, so you're in a hurry and everything. Gotta beat that dragon, right? But don't you need a break?" She'd turned to the army with an undeniable grin on her face. "Look at your Shepherds! They're exhausted! They need a break, wouldn't you agree?" She'd turned again to face Rufure, ever smiling mysteriously. "Come on, Rufure! You're the master tactician, right? You should know that weary soldiers won't last long in battle, and you'll need all your strength to fight Grima!"

"Er..." Rufure had seemed speechless.

"We can't afford any delays," Chrom had interrupted. "The longer Grima is here, the more likely we are to fail. I will not rest until our world is safe."

"Oh, I know that!" the merchant had gone on. "That's why you should come to the Outrealm! The Bathrealm, anyway. You'll be back as soon as you go! Interdimensional travel doesn't have to follow the rules of time, you know."

"Wait, what?" No one had any idea what she was talking about.

"Here, just take these, will you?" She'd handed a stack of passes to Chrom. "It's no trouble. Come rest, relax, have some fun, and you'll be rejuvenated to go fight your dragon! Win-win, right? And seriously, you'll be back as soon as you leave. No one'll know you left!" Chrom had blinked as he took the passes, obviously blown away by everything the merchant had said to him. "Think it over. Hope we see you soon!" With that, she'd left, leaving the Shepherds dumbfounded.  
"What was that about?" Rufure had wondered, taking a pass from her husband and inspecting it. "The Bathrealm? ...If what she says is true and we really can go without losing time, it may actually be a good idea."  
"You think so?" Chrom had asked, and she'd nodded.

"She had a point: Weary soldiers won't last long. And I'd sooner not lose any of our allies, especially to Grima. Fighting him is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done and we'll need all our strength." They had both remained silent for a moment.

"Frederick," Chrom had beckoned, "What do you think?"  
"I agree with Lady Rufure," the knight had replied. "The Shepherds need rest, and this seems like our best option."

"Hm..." Chrom then turned to his future daughter as she approached him. "Well, Lucina? What about you?"

"We need to defeat Grima as soon as possible," she'd told him urgently. "But Mother is right. I do not want to see any of our companions killed. If this will help increase our chances of surviving, then we must take it."

"I can't believe any of you are even considering this," Nemo had grumbled, catching Pit's attention. "Grima has to be stopped as soon as possible."

"It sounds like we won't waste time," the god of Light pointed out. "Nemo, we need to think of our survival."

"I'm thinking of the Celestial Balance!" Nemo snapped before lowering his voice. "You know he's throwing it off, Pit. Don't you think we need to stop him as soon as we can?"

"Yes, but I'd like to avoid death," Pit replied curtly as he crossed his arms. "So simmer down. You could probably use a break too."

"You expect me to take a break when my son is ill?" He shook his head. "I can't relax until I know he'll be okay."

"Okay," Pit sighed. "You gonna give yourself away? You go after Grima yourself, you break our bargain, and I'll have every reason to come after you- past or future." For that, Nemo had no answer.

And so, the Shepherds had journeyed to a strange gate to the south of Ylisse and passed through it, only to arrive in a snowy area strange to all of them. They seemed to be on some sort of mountain, and thick steam rose from an area naturally enclosed by the rocks.

"So this is the... 'Bathrealm' or something?" Lucina wondered as she, Pit, and Nemo followed the Shepherds' leaders to meet with another merchant. "It certainly sounded nice. But it's a bit chilly, isn't it?"

"I wonder what that means... 'Bathrealm,'" Pit pondered. "Guess we'll find out." They continued on as Chrom stopped to speak with the merchant, though this one had sparkling blue hair rather than the red Anna and her sisters usually had. A few moments later, Lissa returned from further up, and she seemed distressed. She spoke with Chrom and the merchant for several moments before Chrom turned to the Shepherds.

"To the hot springs, everyone!" he called. "We have to take those Risen down!" They started toward the steaming area, but Pit blinked as he processed their leader's words.

"H-Hot spring?" he repeated, unable to contain the grin on his face as Nemo stared at him.

"Behave yourself," the lord of the Underworld scolded.

"Aw, forget that! Let's go smite these Risen! To arms, my friend!" He pulled out his bow and hurried on with Nemo and Lucina staring after him.

"He seems excited," she remarked, and Nemo snorted.

"He... likes his spa time." He sighed. "Come on, before he gets himself into trouble." She nodded and unsheathed Falchion as they hurried to catch up.

They made their way into the rocky paths of the mountain, and Pit came to halt as his gaze scanned the area, a nearly goofy grin plastered on his face.

"It's... a... huge... HOT SPRING!" he yelled giddily, his mind wiped of anything and anyone around him as he tore forward and dove into the nearest bath.

"Pit!" Chrom called after him, and he sounded irritated. "There're Risen in that bath!"

"Not to mention I think it's for women," Rufure added.

"And what about your clothes?! You'll ruin your weapon!" Lucina pointed out as he shook out his hair and turned to them with an embarrassed smile. Past them, he could see Nemo shaking with silent laughter for a moment as he attempted to control himself.

"Uh... Right." The disguised god from the future nocked an arrow and sniped a nearby Risen Swordmaster before it had the chance to notice him. Once it had fallen, he trudged out of the water and rejoined his companions on dry land.

"I hope you're satisfied," Chrom said curtly as he stared at him. "Now, would you do us all a favor and save your bath time for AFTER we've gotten rid of the Risen?"

"Right," Pit dipped his head. "So let's finish 'em quickly!" He stepped back as Chrom and Rufure started discussing a plan and smiled sheepishly as he passed Lucina.

"That could have been more dignified," Nemo told him as they readied themselves for battle. "You still don't have much self control, do you?"

"Hey, I'm used to diving in as soon as I see one! It's more like second nature now," he replied. "When I find one, it means healing. And I've spent a decent part of my life getting shot at, remember? I look for any chance to soak my wounds away."

"Right, right," Nemo sighed, though he smiled slightly. "Let's get rid of these things so you can relax." Pit grinned and nodded, then turned back to Lucina and approached her side.

"So, these are the hot springs?" she wondered as she looked around. "They really do look just like a giant bath. Our future never held anything even half as lovely as this... Just look at the foliage floating there on the water! It's breathtaking... I look forward to relaxing here once the fighting is done." Pit's smile softened and he opened his mouth to reply.

"ATTENTION SHEPHERDS," a voice boomed, sending them both jumping. "THIS IS A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT." There were a bit of clicking and hissing sounds for a moment. "ANYONE HERE ME?"

"Hear you?!" Lucina scoffed. "Gods, every word is like a hammer strike!"

"WHAT, TOO LOUD?" There was an ear-splitting screeching sound. "Sorry. There. I adjusted the volume. I'm using a Megaphone tome to speak long distance. It's an Anna original. It gets steamy in the springs, so we needed a system to locate lost guests. ...Oh, and when you reply, please speak clearly into those magical stones, okay?" Both Lucina and Pit looked around until they found a strange stone.

"Amazing," she marveled. "You've thought of everything. So what is this 'special announcement?'"

"Well, we here in the Outrealm voted on which of you we like best," the merchant replied via her tome. "Turns out the results are in, and I get to award the top four a very special prize!"

"Only four of us?" Lucina wondered.

"Aww, don't worry. ALL of you are popular. It's just... well... some of you are easier to latch on to than others, I guess. Today's vote is just for those of you visiting from the future. So do you want to know who won? Of course you do! For the men, the winners are... Drumroll, please... Owain aaaaaand...Inigo!"

"Wait, what?" Inigo wondered from further back, a blush evident on his face.

"Owain?" Lucina echoed. "But... He's out there?"

"And for the ladies, we have... Lucina aaaaaand...Severa! You go, girls." Lucina blinked.

"Severa too... We'll have to find them as soon as we can."

"Now which of you four are here with us today? Wait right here at this winners' circle to claim your prize. I promise to turn each of you into a brand-new you!"

"Brand-new you?" the future princess wondered. "What exactly does that mean?"

"You'll just have to drop by and see!" the merchant laughed. "Don't worry. I'll stay here as long as it takes."

"This sounds worrisome..." Lucina sighed as Inigo made his way over.

"Well, well, Lucina! We'll have to make a point to go see what that merchant wants, huh? Who knew we were so popular?"

"We have Risen to fight," she replied. "That comes first, Inigo."

"Oh, but Lucina! Come on. We came here to relax, didn't we?" he pointed out. "Come on. For old Inigo's sake!"

"Much as I hate to admit it, he's right," Pit agreed. "Go see what the big deal is. It should only take a few minutes, right? And you deserve some appreciation. I'll come with you and watch your back."

"I'm sure Lucina and I can take care of ourselves," Inigo said somewhat defensively, and Pit stared at him.

"I know, but it would never hurt to have an extra guy around, wouldn't it?" Inigo watched him for a moment longer before shrugging and heading off.

"Competition, huh?" Nemo voiced from behind, and Pit jumped before turning to him.

"Wh-what do you mean?" he demanded as the Oracle watched him smugly.

"Don't think I haven't noticed how you act around her," he replied. "I'm not blind, Pit. You care for her. Deeply."

"She's a good friend!" Pit said a bit too quickly, and Nemo continued to stare at him.

"Your flustered face says otherwise. But whatever. Let's get rid of these Risen so you can go soak."

"Right..." Pit shook his head and followed Lucina and Inigo out toward the little building the merchant had pointed them to.

"I'll meet up with you later!" Nemo called after him, and he turned to find his companion hurrying off in another direction- the same that Henry had run off in. He turned his attention back to the task at hand and stepped around one of the pools, then loosed an arrow and took out another Risen. He couldn't help but notice how close Inigo was staying to Lucina, never more than two or three steps behind her as they fended off the Risen nearby.

"Why does he bother me so much?" he mumbled under his breath, sniping another Risen on his path. He heard one growl behind him and spun around just in time to have a lance stab his shoulder. He grit his teeth and quickly shot forth a brief blast of light, strong enough to take his adversary down but without drawing attention to himself. The wound itself wasn't terrible, but blood still seeped forth and it managed to impede the use of his arm. He aimed for another Risen in the spring next to him and finished it before it had the chance to move.

He eventually managed to catch up with his fellow travelers from the future at the little building. Inigo was standing outside, but Lucina was nowhere to be seen.

"I'll have to admit, that yukata was comfortable," Inigo was saying to himself, but he fell silent as Pit approached.

"Yukata?" Pit echoed, but Inigo seemed to be in no mood to speak with him. The god sighed and turned his attention back to the house just as the merchant and Lucina emerged. He blinked, taken aback by the yukata and the shimmer in her hair- she was nothing short of lovely, and he felt his face burn.

"What do you think?" Lucina asked of her escort. "Does this pattern suit me as well as it does my father?" The pattern she referred to was the Mark of Naga adorning the robe.

"Are you kidding?" the merchant chuckled. "It looks like it was made just for you! Then again, I bet someone like you could make any yukata look good." Pit silently agreed with her, but said nothing.

"Heh..." Lucina smiled. "You flatter me. But I'm delighted to hear it all the same. Thank you for humoring me. I know this isn't the yukata you had in mind. In any case, I'd better get changed back into my normal clothes now."

"What? You're changing back already?!" the merchant demanded. "But it looks so good on you! Why not savor it a little while longer?"

"Would that I could," Lucina agreed as she looked herself over. "But not while my friends are risking their lives. We can't afford to tarry any longer- peace must be restored to the springs! We've caused you enough trouble already."

"You've caused ME trouble?" the merchant echoed. "How so?"

"Because of these hideous monsters! They attacked as soon as we arrived. The ambush was surely intended for us." The merchant started chuckling softly, and Lucina gazed at her. "Wh-what's so funny?"

"You really are the sweetest thing. No wonder you won so many votes! Now put that thought out of your mind. These monsters didn't come for you. It's pure chance that they showed up when they did. I should be apologizing! I appreciate your sense of duty, but we all need to take a break sometimes. Just like you guys are trying to do right now."

"I... I suppose you're right," Lucina nodded. "Thanks again for letting me try the yukata and dyeing my hair. It really did mean a lot to me."

"No thanks necessary. I enjoyed it too!" the merchant smiled. "Now, let's get you back to your old self." They disappeared back into the house.

"A breathtaking sight as always," Inigo mumbled. "You know something, Pit?"

"What?"

"She and I, along with our other companions, had been fighting together for years. We were all each other had. I would gladly give my life if it meant saving hers. Not just because she's the one who wields Falchion, but because I care for her."

"I would gladly do the same," Pit agreed.

"Yes, don't think I forgot how you supposedly saved her from Grima. I'm still completely clueless as to how you managed to do that. No one stands against the Fell Dragon and lives to tell the tale."

"I guess I got lucky," Pit replied. A lame excuse, but the only one he had.

"You cannot rely on luck, my friend. We know that, and yet it's all we had. There's no other explanation we have for surviving as long as we did. That, or that Grima was simply playing some sick game with us." He sighed. "Pit, my friend, I haven't been fair to you."

"Inigo?" Pit wondered, confused, as the swordsman fully turned to face him.

"I've been shallow and... well, a jerk. I shouldn't let envy get in the way of helping my companions or accepting their help in return."

"I do appreciate your ability, Inigo," Pit smiled. "And seriously. I've got your back. I don't want to see you dying out there!"

"Right back at you!" Inigo grinned. "Let's shoo out these Risen and reap the rewards. Perhaps I'll find a grateful young maiden who'd like to join me in the mixed bath..." Pit's smile remained as he rolled his eyes, and Lucina emerged from the small house a moment later. She was back in her usual clothes and her hair had returned to its natural state. She waved to the merchant and joined her companions with a smile on her face.

"We should get moving," she said, though there was a tone of weightlessness to her voice. Both boys nodded and Pit nocked an arrow as he followed them toward the nearest bath where a duo of Risen still remained. They struck quickly and Pit finished another just as fast. A few moments later, as they caught their breath, Chrom's voice rang out over the springs.

"That's all of them! We got 'em!" Cheers erupted from the Shepherds, and they reassembled a moment later as the merchant joined them.

"Wow, you're all so strong!" she smiled. "Thank you so much, all of you. Now, come on! Go change into your yukatas and enjoy the bath. But please, try to obey our rules. No mixing clientele except in the mixed bath! Behave yourselves!"

"I'm sure we will," Rufure smiled. "Thank you, miss. This is such a welcome rest for the Shepherds."

"Yeah, I know," the merchant grinned. "Now, go change! I'll get you all for dinner later."

"Thank you," Chrom dipped his head. "Alright, Shepherds! You're dismissed. Go relax and unwind." The Shepherds began dispersing, and Pit caught back up with Nemo as they headed off to the house designated for the men to change in.

"He's such an interesting boy," Nemo said once his companion had joined him.

"Who? Henry?" Pit asked as he glanced toward the Plegian dark mage a short distance away, grinning as always and talking about his excitement during the battle.

"Yes..." Nemo smiled softly. "He's awfully bright, even for his element. But the darkness within him goes beyond his magic. And there is light there- I'm sure of it."

"You really think so?" Pit wondered, tipping his head to the side, and Nemo nodded.

"I... My mind tells me I'm getting my hopes up too much. But my heart says otherwise, if that makes any sense... I don't want to jump to conclusions. But everything he's told me makes too much sense."

"Like?"

"He's a lot older than he looks, apparently," Nemo began. "He's been able to use magic for as long as he can remember, even before he started training. And he has a high tolerance for pain. But beyond that, his body's defense seems to be awfully high for a human- more akin to you or me. You know our bodies can take a lot more abuse than humans can."

"Of course," Pit agreed. "So you think Henry may not be human? I guess that wouldn't surprise me."

"Aye... Again, I need to talk to him about some other things too. I don't want to bring anything up until I'm absolutely sure."

"I understand," Pit nodded. "And Nemo, if you need to talk, I'll lend an ear." Nemo smiled and nodded his thanks.

Later on, Lucina stepped out of the waters of the bath she had entered with Rufure and Lissa. She couldn't help but admit the springs did seem to have healing properties, and she felt refreshed and relaxed after her soak.

"Hey, Lucina, where are you going?" Lissa wondered as the future princess pulled her yukata on and wrung out her hair.

"I thought I'd take a look around," she replied. "Preferably while staying away from the men's bath..." Both her mother and aunt laughed for a moment.

"Well, be careful," Rufure cautioned. "And call if you need anything!"

"I will, Mother," Lucina nodded. "I'll see you soon." She headed off, shivering a bit in the cold air once she was away from the bath, and glanced around somewhat absentmindedly. She stopped, however, as she saw a form a short distance away. "Pit?" Sure enough, it was Pit, wearing a white yukata with a blue obi. He disappeared into an incline masked by the rocky formations of the mountain. After deliberating for several moments, she followed him, slowly at first before picking up her pace. The slope he'd gone up was steep and somewhat craggy, and ascending it proved to be difficult as she climbed. She lost her footing several times and it took her several tries to finally pull herself up to more stable ground. Her ears picked up the sound of a soft splash, and she bit her lip as she reached the top and made her way between several other formations.

"EEP!" She screamed for a second as he spun around to face her, his blue eyes wide as he knelt down in some attempt to cover himself. She turned her head, her face the same dark red shade as his.

"L-Lucina?!" he stammered, mortified that she had found him in such a state.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean... Please forgive me!" She turned his gaze back to him slightly as he stared at her. The steam did a decent job masking him, but not quite enough.

"Uh... l-let me pull my yukata or whatever back on," he said quickly, and she nodded as she turned away again. There was a delay before he spoke again.

"Okay, you can look." She turned back to him to find that he'd wrapped the yukata as best he could around his waist, though he was still bare from there up. His wings rustled gently as he turned around, his face still red. "I hope this doesn't make you uncomfortable, but I can't exactly put it on the right way right now."

"N-No, it's okay," she replied. "I can leave... I was just wondering why you were up here alone."

"I wanted to soak my wings," he explained as he approached her, though he made a point of keeping a bit of a distance. "So I found a hot spring that seemed pretty unused. It doesn't seem worth the trip of coming all the way up here, you know? Plus, my shoulder got injured during the fight and I needed to heal it."

"What?" she blinked. "Did you want the water to loosen it or...?" He smiled a bit and shook his head.

"Not quite." He raised one hand and summoned a beautiful cobalt bow lined in a sharp golden edge. She stared at it, awestruck. "Now, please, don't freak out, okay?" His words confused him, but she nodded as he split the bow into two short swords. He dropped one and, after a moment's hesitation, winced as he ran the other across his free arm.

"Pit!" she breathed. "What in the gods' names are you doing?!" He still smiled as his wound began bleeding.

"I told you not to freak out!" he replied and knelt down by the hot spring. He submerged his arm without hesitation, and the waters quickly sealed the wound and washed away what blood had escaped from his body. He pulled it back and held it up for her to inspect as she stared at him.

"W...What just happened?" she demanded as she looked his arm over, even ran her finger over the part where the cut had been a moment earlier. "How did you do that?!"

"Hot Springs have healing properties," he said simply. "To you humans, it's more of a mental thing. But for us in the divine realm, they actually heal. It's a big reason why I haven't gotten myself finished permanently."

"So, they heal any injury?" she wondered, and he shook his head.

"Not every injury," he explained. "If it's really bad, then it'll only take the immediate edge off. And... I suppose it depends on how long the injury is on the body before we get to the springs." She hesitated for a moment.

"Is that why you have those scars on your back?" His gaze blanked for a moment and his smile faded.

"...You saw that?"

"They... looked like burns," she told him, and he sighed.

"They are burns," he agreed. "From over a thousand years ago. I... My brother was in trouble, and I couldn't fly on my own back then. I was given the power to fly for about five minutes at a time. But I went over that limit, and..." he shuddered. "My wings caught fire and apparently burned up. I... don't remember much about it, and I passed out at some point. But I remember the pain." He smiled weakly. "To this day, I still have a fear of fire."

"But you have your wings now," she pointed out.

"Only because my brother saved me. I won't get into it too much right now." She looked down, but he tucked his hand under her chin and angled her face back up. "Come on, now, don't worry about it! I'm fine. I've survived worse than that- trust me."

"You've been through a lot," she acknowledged, and he shrugged as he pulled his hand back.

"I guess so, but I don't regret any of it. ...Okay, that's not entirely true. I wasn't able to save someone close to me."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Me too. But I can't change that. What I will change, however, is now. We WILL defeat Grima, Lucina. I swear it." She smiled and nodded.

"I look forward to that day, Pit. Thank you." He nodded as well, but his smile faded as he felt his heart thud in his chest. "Pit? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," he stammered. "I... just..." he looked down, suddenly unable to meet her gaze as embarrassment flooded over him.

"Pit, please. You can tell me anything. I... I care about you, alright? If there's something I can do, please, tell me." He looked up, peaking through his bangs to meet her gaze again.

"I..." he mumbled. "I care about you too, Lucina..." He took a deep breath. He felt like his head was going to explode, but he figured he'd explode anyway if he didn't get it off his chest. "In fact... I think I fell for you."

She remained silent as stone, and it seemed she had ceased breathing.

"W-what?" she finally said in a small voice.

"I... I think I love you." He felt his cheeks burning. "These years we've spent together... I wouldn't trade them for anything. I don't ever want you to leave my side."

"Pit..." she breathed, and he raised his head again to face her. "I... I never expected this. I didn't think I could..." she shook her head briskly and smiled. "But I believe I've found that I love you as well. It seems strange... you're a god. I'm just..."

"You're not 'just' anything, Lucina!" he insisted. "I don't care. You're you. That's all I could ask for." Her smile grew, and he pulled her into his arms with a smile on his face as well. "And we'll stop Grima together. I don't know how yet, but I'll find a way for us to be together. I promise."

"I trust you, Pit," she replied and pulled back to meet his gaze. After a moment, he withdrew and chuckled.

"We should probably get back before Chrom has a fit about us disappearing." She laughed wholeheartedly, earning a grin from him.

"Quite!" she giggled. "Maybe we should keep this to ourselves right now... I don't want Father coming after you with a broadsword freshly sharpened. And if he does, I suppose we'll be scheduling a trip back here to the hot springs!"

"I'd rather avoid that," he chuckled. "Then let's go. For the sake of my skin!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **And there you go, everyone. The birth of Lucit.


	17. Chapter XVI: To Be Found

**Author's Note: **Lucina isn't the only one with connections to the KI universe now. I just hope it hasn't been so long that you've forgotten some of the things I've written in earlier in the story!

* * *

The Shepherds had stayed the night, or so they thought, in the Outrealm, and they bade a grudging farewell to the reprieve it had brought them early the next morning. Sure enough, just as the merchant had promised, it seemed not a moment had passed in their world, and Grima's presence weighed heavily on them as they began the march from southern Ylisse to the eastern region where Mount Prism rose. Pit wanted desperately to see Lucina smile again as she had when they had left the secluded bath where he'd rather embarrassingly poured out everything he'd been hiding, but he had a feeling he'd see no such elation until after they managed to defeat Grima- that is, if they were even able to.

They had managed to cover decent ground in the day and were now somewhere between the Outrealm gate and Ylisstol. Chrom dared not return home, doing his best to divert Grima's gaze from Ylisse's capital and any other major centers of life and commerce. Instead, they stopped in a sea of trees and Chrom gave the order to set up camp. Now, they had divided up into groups around the fires lit to enjoy a meal, attempting to cast out the echo of the Fell Dragon's frightening roar. Lucina and Morgan had joined her parents and Frederick in one group to discuss any possible plans they could make, but it sounded like they weren't coming up with much- they needed Naga's help, and couldn't foresee anything beyond that moment.

Meanwhile, Pit had seated himself several paces away from the fire, though he had to admit the chill in the air drove him closer to the flames than he would have liked. His back itched in place of his missing wings as he tried, mostly successfully, to push back the distant memory. In his group were Nemo, who had basically stuck to Pit like glue since they'd returned from the Outrealm, along with Henry, Ricken, and a boy by the name of Donnel. Pit could swear he sensed another presence with them, but couldn't seem to place it.

"Man, that was incredible!" Henry was going on, nearly falling back while he talking about Nemo's cleaving a Risen with his Darkness. "You have to teach me, Nemo. It's like dark magic does whatever you tell it to do. How do you do that?" Nemo smiled gently and chuckled.  
"You could say I have an affinity for it," he replied with a shrug. "But sure, I'd be happy to teach you." Beyond his smile, Pit could see something else within his companion- longing, perhaps? He didn't bring it up.  
"Hey, Ricken!" Someone called, rousing the mage from their group.  
"What?!" he called back. "What's wrong?"  
"Maribelle says you're late in joining her for tea or something," the voice replied, and Ricken sighed heavily as he got to his feet.  
"Maybe I would have waited until after the war if I had known proposing meant tea every time we stop..." he chuckled a bit and waved to his comrades, who all returned the gesture before he hurried off.  
"His runnin' off reminds me," Donnel frowned. "Gotta check my traps. Gotta feed the Shepherds and all that!"  
"Aww, you're leaving?" Henry wondered, and Donnel shrugged. "Okay. Careful! Don't wanna become Risen food!"  
"See you later, Donny," Pit smiled, and Donnel dipped his head before hurrying off as well. "And then there were three, eh?"  
"Guess so," Nemo agreed. "So, Henry. Tell me more about your family, will you?"  
"Huh? Well, I don't really know what to tell you. They don't really care what I'm up to as long as I don't bug them, you know?" Pit would have expected a shadow of sadness about anyone else, but Henry's grin remained plastered on his face. "But that means I get to practice all my experiments and magic and curses and stuff! Nearly burned my face off once!" He laughed. "Shouldn't have tried to burn that rock."

"Do you resemble them much?" Nemo went on, and Henry shrugged.

"Not nearly as much as I resemble you!" the dark mage replied. "Nya ha! Funny how that works out, huh?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Nemo sighed. "And you said you're a lot older than you look, right?" Henry nodded.

"Can't give you an exact number," he admitted.

"Neither can we," Pit joked, and Henry grinned at him.

"Really?"  
"We're both a heck of a lot older than we look, right, Nemo?" Nemo nodded.  
"And I'm even older than he is," the Dark Oracle agreed. "Though I doubt you'd ever guess it."

"Nope!" Henry said. "So, why is that? Just super good at magic or something? Or did someone curse you to age slowly or something? I figured mine is just because I'm good at magic. And I'm a happy guy! Stress causes wrinkles and all that."

"Then I should be a lot more wrinkled," Pit muttered and Nemo stifled a quick laugh.  
"Well, Henry," he suddenly became quite serious. "I don't age. Not physically, anyway. I've been this way since I took a human form." Henry stared at him- or, at least, stared at him as best he could while squinting or just keeping his eyes closed.  
"What? You're not human?"  
"No," Nemo shook his head. "Never have been. I took a human form to throw off the gods that wanted to abuse my power. In truth, I am the spirit of Darkness- its Oracle, as we've come to be called." He paused as Henry continued to supposedly stare at him. "Over a millennium ago, hundreds of years even before the first Exalt defeated the Fell Dragon, I became the god that rules the Underworld." Pit nearly stopped breathing as his ears processed Nemo's revelation. If the dark god was wrong about his assumption...  
"Wait, wait, you rule the Underworld? Like the land of the dead from mythology?" Henry wondered, and Nemo nodded again.  
"Except that it's no mere legend. It exists. Souls pass from this world to mine and I oversee the cycle of how they are used. I live in a place called the City of Souls, where they begin that cycle once they reach my realm."

"That's awesome," Henry grinned. "Can I go there sometime? I wanna see what things look like after I kill 'em!" Nemo chuckled softly.  
"Maybe you can sometime," he agreed. "And you can meet my wife and my son."  
"You have a family down there?" Henry wondered.  
"Yes. My wife, Levica, is the Oracle of Light- the spirit of Light in a human form. Our son, Remiel, is the embodiment of the balance of our elements. He commands both Darkness and Light, but does not favor one or the other." His smile faded. "I had another son as well, one who was stolen from us not an hour after he was born- taken by the goddess of calamity. I've been searching for him ever since." He paused, his gaze fixed on the flames in front of them. "Remiel said that his brother embodied both Darkness and Light as well, but in a more chaotic manner. I never quite knew what he meant." His gaze shifted back to the dark mage. "What about you, Henry? Do you think there's Light in you?"

For once, it seemed Henry was at a loss for words.

"I think there is," Nemo went on. "I can sense it in you. It's a lot weaker than your Darkness, but I figure that's probably because you've kept it dormant." Strange a sight as it was, Henry's grin finally vanished and his eyes opened to stare blankly at the fire.  
"Maybe," was all he could give voice to.  
"Henry, look at me," Nemo said softly, and Henry's gaze lifted away from the flames at his beckoning. Pit blinked several times as his heart nearly stopped.  
"What?" the dark mage asked as both gods stared at him.  
"You have Levica's eyes," Nemo's voice wavered as he spoke. "An otherworldly green that only she has. I don't care who your 'parents' are. You couldn't have gotten them from anyone else." Henry blinked, and the three were silent for a moment.

"So... you... you think I'm..." the dark mage fell silent again. "You think I'm your son?"

"I do," Nemo replied. "If not you, then I have no idea who else could possibly be. Your prowess with Darkness goes beyond your magic, Henry. Your natural affinity from it comes from me."  
"I'm your son..." it seemed even Henry couldn't come up with a crack for that point of knowledge. "You... you're my father..."  
"Henry." He looked up again at Nemo's beckoning as the lord of the Underworld got to his feet. "Please," his desperation was evident in his face as his red gaze observed the boy. "Forgive me for taking so long to find you. I searched every crevice of the Underworld to find you... I never thought you'd been taken to the Overworld. I..." to Pit's shock, he fell to his knees as Henry stared at him in shock. "Forgive me for abandoning you..." Henry continued to watch him even as Nemo's eyes surrendered several tears.  
"This is why I'm different," he finally said. "This is why my magic is so strong and why everyone thinks I'm so weird!" A grin slowly spread across his face as Nemo looked up at him. "And this is why I can talk to plants and animals like me, right? I'm not human!"

"K-Keep your voice down..." Nemo smiled weakly. "You don't want the entire camp to know, do you?"

"I guess not," Henry agreed. "But all those things I can do, I thought they were just talents I had. But they're not! They're like powers or something, aren't they?" Nemo nodded. "And you're the lord of the Underworld and the Spirit of Darkness. Does that mean I'm a god or something?"  
"It's more likely that you're something along the lines of a demigod," Nemo explained. "In fact... you and your brother are unlike anything else in this world. You're you, Henry. That's all that matters. Though that does mean you're a prince of the Underworld."

"I'm a prince!" Henry nearly giggled and fell back, shaking with laughter. "That's awesome! Wow, if Mom and Dad could-" He suddenly fell silent as he sat back up. "But they're not my mom and dad. You're my dad..." Something told Pit that was the hardest fact for him to comprehend. "You're my dad. You're my father." Again, Nemo nodded, and he got to his feet again. After a moment's hesitation on both their parts, he pulled his son into his arms and held him tightly, his silent tears resuming their slow stream down his cheek. Henry, after a moment longer of hesitation, returned the embrace somewhat awkwardly before pulling back and grinning. Pit smiled as well, his heart warming with relief as he watched.

"Oh, but..." Nemo smiled a bit as well. "Don't think this means you have to do anything, Henry. I just wanted you to know. I won't force you to go one way or another."

"I guess I should take time to think about it," Henry agreed. "Thanks, Dad."

"That's a name I haven't heard yet," Nemo chuckled. "Rem always insists on calling me 'Father.' I don't think he's ever called me 'Dad.'"  
"Well, you can be 'Father' to him and 'Dad' to me!" Henry laughed. "I have a brother. I can't wait to meet him!"  
"And I doubt he can either," Nemo nodded. "Hey, maybe I can teach you a few tricks with Darkness, if you want."  
"Cool!" Henry agreed. "Now?"

"Sure. Let's get out of camp, though. Don't want to scare anyone!" As they started off, Nemo turned his head back. "Pit? You coming? You could show Henry just what Light means." Pit smiled and got to his feet, then followed the silver-haired pair as he and Nemo explained his role in the world as the god of Light.  
"Um..." a voice, as if from nowhere, spoke up, and Kellam blinked as he watched the trio go. "O-Okay, guys. Bye." He cleared his throat and looked around. "So Nemo is the lord of the Underworld and Henry is his son? And Pit's a god too?" He sighed. "Wow."


	18. Chapter XVII: A Second Test

The night had passed far too quickly for the likes of the Shepherds, and they had broken camp quickly. Pit had spent most of the rest of the march listening to Henry's near endless bombardment of questions aimed at his father, and Nemo replied as best he could while maintaining a decently low profile. At times, he managed to break away from his companion and marched instead with Lucina. Her eyes glimmered with masked affection whenever he approached her, but he could tell the stress of Grima's presence far outweighed her feelings for him. He'd told her that he would do anything to cheer her up, but her request had caught him off guard.  
"Tell me about the heavens," she'd said, and he smiled once he processed what it was she was asking.  
"It's beautiful, Lucina," he began. "Skyworld is made up of a bunch of floating islets nestled among the clouds. Some have bubbling springs that flow over the side in waterfalls that become mist as they fall, and others are homes to the architecture of the temples and gathering spots for the Centurions. My temple is on one side and my brother stays in a structure on another. We have areas set aside for training too." He smiled as he thought of his home realm. "Green grasses and some flowers grow year around, though we have seasons too. It's beautiful during the winter when we get snow, but it doesn't usually stick around for too long."  
"It sounds wonderful," she mused. "And you rule that realm, right?" He nodded. "I really would love to see it." He smiled a bit, hoping his thoughts didn't show on his face. He couldn't think of a time a human had come to set foot in Skyworld, nor did he know what place Lucina could possibly have there. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

Finally, after an exhausting march and a climb that would have broken any lesser group, the Shepherds had scaled Mount Prism and arrived at a pristine, beautiful peak where grass grew green and the trees grew tall among the flowing streams of clear water. The sight itself was breathtaking.

"It's beautiful..." Lissa said, giving voice to Pit's thoughts, as they glanced around the area. It had seldom changed in the near seventeen years between now and the chaotic future they hailed from, one of the few places Grima's reach had not completely destroyed- yet.

"The Divine Dragon's power flows through every blade of grass here," Lucina noticed. Despite the peace around them, Rufure seemed distraught and distracted. It became evident that Chrom had picked up on this as well.

"Wait," he said flatly. "Something doesn't feel right."  
"Nngh..." Rufure groaned. "We must prepare for battle! Grima has sent servants here. I can sense it." She turned to her husband with a sense of urgency on her face. "They'll be on us soon!" At this point, Chrom knew better than to argue with her, and he quickly barked out an order to get into formation and prepare themselves for the ambush waiting for them.

"Here they come," Nemo mumbled, and not a moment later did darkness spread across the ground and spawn a hoard of Risen soldiers that screeched and moaned at the incoming Shepherds.

"How could Risen infiltrate this sacred place?" Lucina demanded, her stress making itself known on her face.

"Their power must be linked to Grima's," Chrom guessed. "We must destroy them!" They broke formation and headed for the trees, and Pit had a feeling the cover was going to make the fight even more difficult than it already was.  
"Guess I'll try some of those new techniques, eh, Dad?" Henry grinned, and Nemo replied with a playful smile on his face. Pit shook his head in brief amusement as he headed to join Lucina and cover her back as she went to confront a Risen nearest her.  
"Focus, Henry!" Nemo advised as his son prepared himself. "Forget the tome- you don't need it!" Henry swallowed and set his gaze on a Risen a short distance away. "Darkness is a part of you," Nemo went on. "You can command it. Your tome is your crutch- don't rely on it. Just call up the power within you." The dark mage did as he was told and took a deep breath, and he stepped forward. He thrust his hand out with a grunt, and a stream of darkness cracked forth like a whip to strike the target. The Risen gurgled in what sounded like shock as Nemo finished it off.

"That was awesome!" Henry grinned. "I feel so powerful! I can do stuff like that all the time?"  
"As long as you don't exhaust yourself," Nemo replied. "Now, let's finish these nuisances off and be home for dinner." Henry nodded, and they continued on toward their next targets.

"Even now, Grima is this powerful," Lucina muttered as she set her stance, and with a cry, she slashed Falchion through another Risen. Pit sniped it from behind her and raced forward to catch up with her once it had fallen. "It's a wonder how we managed to survive for so long in our time."

"Perseverance," Pit replied. "Luck. Hope. Strategy."

"And maybe a bit of help from the god of Light," she smiled, and he felt his face flush slightly as he nodded lightly.

"I should have helped you more," he sighed. "I hope you'll forgive me, Lucina."

"The point is that you're here now," she insisted. "And aiding our fight. I would be dead if it wasn't for you, and I'll never forget that." He smiled and rested his hand on her arm for a moment before turning his attention back to the battle.

"If we break through these trees, we should be able to reach their chief," he noticed. "I just hope everyone makes it through okay. There's not much room to break through if someone needs help."

"The Shepherds are a strong bunch," she reminded him. "We'll be fine. The trees also mean we have cover, so the Risen can't ambush us as easily." He nodded.

"Hold that thought." With that, he sniped an approaching Risen atop a Griffon and it gurgled as it fell to the ground. "Okay, let's go." She nodded, and they both continued weaving through the trees as the sounds of battle echoed across the summit.

"Yah!" Lucina yelled as a Risen suddenly popped up, screeching, and swung its sword at her. Pit leapt in and blocked the blade with the armor protecting his arm.

"I've got you," he smiled, and she nodded before slashing Falchion through her assailant. Before she got a chance to recover, however, she bit back a cry of pain and stumbled forward as a strong cast of fire magic hit her. His gaze quickly swept to the Sage hiding behind the trees, and a moment later it fell to the ground with an arrow lodged in its chest as it dissipated.

"Are you okay?" Pit asked as he helped her stay on her feet, and she grunted through grit teeth in an attempt to reply.  
"W-we have to keep... keep going," she managed to say as she tried to step forward.  
"Not until I know you're okay to," he said firmly.

"But we... the Awakening..." she protested, and he frowned.

"Lucina, look at me," he demanded as he stepped in front of her with his hands on her shoulders. She looked up into his eyes, stunned into silence. "You need to see this through to the end. I would sooner end my own life before I see you fail. You are going to see Grima defeated. That's why we're here. And..." he softened his tone. "Even if Grima does fall, it would be pointless if I lost you." She smiled gently and touched his cheek.  
"I understand, love. I'm not going anywhere, not until I know I'm no longer needed." He smiled as her words brought him some sense of relief, and his heart jumped in his chest to hear her refer to him in such a way. He pushed it back and refocused his attention on the battle.

"Thank you," he replied. "Are you going to be okay?" She nodded and motioned to him to step back, and he complied as she raised Falchion with the blade held parallel to her body. With a quick moment of focus, a light shined from it and swept over her body, healing her injuries to some extent. "Huh. I didn't know it could do that."

"This blade has saved my life more than once," she said. "I don't know if it was Naga's blessing or my father's wish, but nevertheless, I know I wouldn't be here today without it."  
"I could say the same about my bow," he smiled. "Not this one- the blue and gold one I showed you at the hot spring. But-"

"Graeugh!" They both dodged to the side as another Risen broke through the trees and swung a blade at them. Lucina finished it quickly as Pit hurried back over to her.

"I guess they had given us long enough to stand around and talk," he chuckled.

"Right... we should get moving. We have to make up for the lost time." He followed close behind as they made their way through the trees. By the time they broke through, Chrom had locked himself in battle with the Risen Chief and managed to strike it down.

"...Ne...ver..." it groaned as it dissipated, and Chrom hunched over with exhaustion for a moment as Rufure made her way over to him. He took a deep breath and straightened up as the rest of the Shepherds joined him, and he glanced over them quickly to assure everyone had made it through the battle.

"I wish I could say we have time to rest, but we don't," he spoke once he was certain they were all accounted for. "Come, my friends! We make for the altar!" The Shepherds didn't bother with a marching formation. They followed their commander as fast as they could and entered what appeared to be some sort of shrine- the same one Pit had followed Lucina into in the future. He took a deep breath as they came to the altar inside.

"We've made it- the altar," Chrom breathed. "Wait here... I'll be back."

"Be careful, Chrom," Lissa advised, and he nodded to her as he continued on.

"We must believe in him, Aunt Lissa," Lucina urged. Chrom approached the altar and hoisted the Fire Emblem above him, his voice ringing loud and clear.  
"Hear me, Naga!" he recited. "I bear proof of our sacred covenant! In the name of the Exalted blood, I ask for the divine dragon's power! Baptize me in fire, that I may become your true son!" Bright green fire burst forth from the altar, surrounding him, and he grunted loudly.

"Father!" Lucina called out, fear evident on her face.  
"I'm... I'm all right!" he assured her as Naga's form took shape at the altar.

"Be welcome, Awakener," she greeted with an otherworldly echo to her voice. "Your heart has been tested and deemed worthy. Cleansed in my fire, your desire has proven to burn the stronger."

"Then you will grant me the power to defeat Grima?" Chrom asked. "...The power of a god?" Pit stifled a snort and bit his bottom lip slightly in an attempt to keep his expression still.

"Yes," Naga replied. "But know this: I am no god." That caught the disguised god of Light by surprise.

"But milady, you are the Divine Dragon!" Lucina argued.

"So do sons of man name me," Naga acknowledged. "But I am no creator. I possess not the powers of making or unmaking. And neither does Grima. Neither of us bears the power to destroy the other utterly."

"Then what power can you grant me?" Chrom wondered, taken off guard by this little revelation.

"With my blessing, thou may draw forth Falchion's true might," Naga replied. "The blade of the Exalts shall again strike like the dragon's fang. Your strength will then be my equal."

"But not strong enough to destroy Grima?" Chrom pressed.

"Alas, Grima cannot be slain," Naga again said. "Sleep alone can be your victory. Just as your ancestor put the Fell Dragon to sleep a millennium ago. But you must weaken him first. Only as the final can my power be used to bind his."

"Isn't there ANY way to destroy him for good?" Lissa asked, and Naga's gaze moved to her.  
"There is, perchance, a power that could end Grima. However... 'Twould be his own."  
"...He has to kill himself?" Frederick reiterated with a scoff in his tone. Such an idea seemed foolhardy.

"Yes," Naga confirmed. "And never would he do so of his own volition. He seeks only to add to his power, and set ruin upon the world." Pit shuddered at the memory of the nightmare he had endured, of Skyworld's ruin and his brother's death. "Now come. There is little time..."

"Where is Grima now?" Chrom asked of the Divine Dragon.

"To the west lies a volcano known as Origin Peak. You shall find the Fell Dragon there." He nodded and bowed briefly.

"Thank you, Naga. Even if sleep is our only victory, we will stop Grima." He turned around to face his Shepherds as Naga's form faded. "Come, everyone! We have a dragon to slay!" Quick cheers erupted as they headed for the shrine's exit, and Lucina hurried to catch up to her father as he drew forth and observed the newly awakened Falchion. Pit looked down for a moment before starting to follow them.

"Divine one..." he stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to find Naga's form again emerged, gazing directly at him. "You are called Pit, are you not? You are the god of Light."  
"...Yes," he nodded and approached her.

"Yet you are from the future ruined by Grima," she continued, and he again nodded. "You cannot slay Grima. Is that right?"

"Not without things getting even more complicated than they are," he agreed. "Grima has to fall by human hands. Nemo and I can offer our help to some extent, but he ultimately must fall by a mortal."

"Very well. I will place my trust in you, Lord Pit." And, to his surprise, she placed her hand on her chest and bowed her head to him. "Man has named the Dragons as gods. But I am not one, nor is Grima. Perhaps it is time we cease pretending we are. Man worships me as a protector and savior, yet you are the one that truly keeps them safe. Forgive me for standing in your place." He blinked, taken aback.

"Ever since I got here, I've been wondering about the faith they've placed in you," he admitted. "I don't think it's misplaced- Chrom and the others are relying on your blessing to defeat Grima. But whether they ask for it or not, whether they wish to place themselves in harm's way to pass what trials they deem they have to, I will always vow to protect them and the peace of this world."

"You truly are man's defender," she acknowledged. "Thank you..." With that, she again faded from sight, and he took a deep breath before turning and hurrying to catch up with the Shepherds.


	19. Chapter XVIII: The Dragon's Fall

"Grima came from the future. He may go after those who stood against him for so long. If what Lucina says is true, then they've been out there alone for years. Go out, find them, and bring them here! We'll regroup at Port Ferox and head for Origin Peak from there!"

So was the order Chrom gave the Shepherds once they had descended Mount Prism. He hadn't forgotten about the future travelers still, hopefully, somewhere out in the world, and he feared for their safety now that Grima had returned. And so, they had divided and scrambled across the faces of Ylisse and Valm to track down the missing children. Lucina had voiced her concerns about the distraction and the division of their forces, but her parents had assured her of two things: Chrom would not leave them behind any longer and Rufure had pointed out that Grima couldn't chase down multiple groups at once.

"Chase two rabbits, and they'll both escape," Pit recalled with a quiet voice, a small smile on his face as he remembered the man who had once said that to him.

And so, their group had traced the sea and headed south into Valm, where they had managed to find several of their companions: Cynthia, Gerome, and Owain.

"Oh, dear cousin, it's been far too long!" Needless to say, Owain hadn't lost his "talent" for theatrics in the two years they had been apart. "But I had faith that even the vast oceans of time could not keep us apart. Here we stand, now, together, and Uncle Chrom yet lives!"

"Indeed he does, Owain," Lucina had agreed with a smile. "But now, we have to face Grima once and for all. We will defeat him or die trying."

"That's the spirit, Lucy!" Cynthia had interrupted. "That giant lizard is gonna fall. I know it!" They had shared their reunion optimistically, but Gerome hadn't been so quick to join them.

"Does she know?" he'd suddenly asked once he came to greet Pit. The archer blinked.

"Who knows what?" he wondered, and Gerome glanced toward Lucina from behind his mask.

"I suppose a better question would be, 'Have you told her how you feel?'" He chuckled softly, though he did not smile, as Pit stared at him. "Don't think I can't see just because I wear a mask. The way you two fight in battle, how you stay near her even off the battlefield, and the look in her eyes when she glances to you... You love her."

"...I do," Pit nodded.

"And she returns the sentiment, from what I can see." Gerome lowered his head. "I still wonder about your origins, Pit. I have seen the destruction the Fell Dragon can bring. How one man could stand against him and live, I may never understand." He paused. "Keep her safe, do you understand me? Even now, the world would suffer if something were to happen to her. I have been alone and unable to do my part since I arrived in this time, but I plan to make up for that loss now. But even so, it seems you're the one she will rely on the most." His tone became much sharper, making Pit jump. "Don't fail her."

"I have no intention to," Pit replied. "I'll protect her no matter what the cost." Gerome nodded.

"Good."

It had taken quite some time, but the Shepherds had managed to regroup at Port Ferox as ordered, and their mission had been successful. For the first time since departing from the future, Lucina stood with all her companions as they prepared themselves for battle. The children had, for the most part, rather tearfully reunited with their parents of the past before they set out for Origin Peak. While fighting on the island, their path had been blocked by a horde of Grima's servants led by Aversa. She seemed hell-bent on avenging Validar, but her fighting style had become almost sloppy. Felling her after breaking through their opponents proved none too difficult of a task, and her final words echoed around Pit's head as he wondered just what it was she had endured.

"Finally... sweet... death... Finally... the pain... F-Finally... it ends..."

Perhaps she truly wanted revenge for Validar's death, or maybe she was simply seeking an end. Pit only wished it could have come in a less violent form.

Once they were sure the battle had ended, it became apparent that they had caught Grima's attention. The Fell Dragon's roar sounded across the island, nearly knocking several Shepherds off their feet.

"Yikes!" Lissa exclaimed. "What was that?!"  
"The dragon's call!" Lucina voiced, and they looked up to the sky- to Grima's form in the clouds. "Grima!"

"We can defeat him," Chrom vowed, determination etched on his face.

"Milord, how does a man challenge a mountain?!" Frederick demanded. "Where would one even strike?!" It was true- even with the newly awakened Falchion, defeating the Fell Dragon seemed impossible.

"I'm not even sure you and I could take that," Nemo mumbled as he appeared at Pit's side. "He's weakened me and you don't have access to most of your power, right?" Pit nodded.

"We have to try," he said. "Marth somehow managed to do it before. Chrom can do it now. I hope."

"The Fell Dragon has a weakness on the nape of his neck," a voice echoed, one belonging to Naga. "But that weakness will be guarded by his servants. I can send you onto the dragon's back, but the rest is in your hands."  
"Then please, milady, and quickly!" Chrom pleaded. "We would ask no more of you. Everyone, gird yourselves! One way or another, this ends here!" Pit exchanged a quick glance with Nemo, who nodded and lifted his gaze to the sky. Pit did the same as Naga's power swept over Chrom's chosen Shepherds. When the light had died down, they found themselves flying through the air on the back of the Fell Dragon himself, and the stranger- no, Grima- stood just where the back met the dragon's neck. All along the edge of his back were Grimleal who appeared ready to die more than once for their leader.

"WRETCHED SON OF NAGA..." Grima howled. "YOU WILL BE DESTROYED."

"Are you ready, Rufure?" Chrom asked as he brandished the awakened Falchion.

"As ready as I will be, Chrom," she replied. "Let's finish this!" Her remark brought a brief smile to Pit's face, but it faded as the air around them trembled with the feeling of an impending magical attack. Not a moment later, strange spikes shot out of Grima's back and Pit, along with most of the Shepherds, let out a loud grunt of pain as he fought to stay on his feet. He glanced over to find Nemo struggling as well, alarm evident in his red eyes.

"Wh-what..." Chrom panted. "What manner of magic..."

"Magic?" Basilio huffed. "That was a... damned... catastrophe... He's weakened us all... He's too... strong..." It didn't take Pit long to realize just what the humans had endured. If he and Nemo, two true gods of their world, had taken so much of a beating from that one cast of magic, he knew the mortals were lucky to be alive- and barely.

"It cannot end like this..." Frederick protested weakly. "I won't have... all our struggle... be for naught..."

"No..." Lucina breathed. "This darkness... The future is upon us! Oh gods... F-Father..."

"And so it ends, Rufure," Grima spoke. "See how frail these human bonds of yours are? How short lived? How pointless?" Rufure grit her teeth, but said nothing. "You have all thrown your lives away, and the result is the same!"

"We're not dead yet!" Rufure challenged, the emphasis being on "yet," as Pit thought.

"Details, details," Grima sighed. "But yes, I suppose it's time I got you all off my back, so to speak- permanently."

"No..." Rufure mumbled.

"No, you don't want this, do you?" Grima went on. "You do have a choice, you know. It doesn't have to be this way. You can still save all your friends... Become one with me, and we shall spare their lives. ...Refuse, and watch as I rend the flesh from their bones!"

"...I..." Rufure looked down, the battle within herself over her companions evident on her face.

"No, Rufure!" Chrom snapped. "Don't... do it..."

"She's lying," Lissa agreed. "It's... a trap..."

"NOW!" Grima bellowed. "I will have your decision! Will you save these worms? Will you JOIN ME and become a GOD?" Nemo rolled his eyes and caught Pit's eye again, and Pit merely shrugged.

"Do you think me a fool?" Rufure inquired. "You'll kill them anyway!" Even from the distance, Grima stared at her.

"Well, of COURSE I would. I only thought you might want to leave your comrades with a heroic, selfless image. ...But so be it. Leave them with the final memory that you were their undoing!" Rufure cried out as some sort of portal opened up under her feet.

"Rufure!" Chrom called as he tried to lunge for her, but he fell with a thud and grit his teeth as their tactician disappeared within the portal. "D-Damn..." he grumbled. "This... Grima! Release her! I swear to the gods, I will destroy you!" Grima, unfortunately, seemed distracted or just ignored him entirely. Chrom sighed and turned his attention back to the spot where Rufure had disappeared. "You have to fight back!" he called. "You have to fight back! Keep fighting!" His voice intensified as he clenched his hands. "Fight back! You have to keep fighting! Fight back, Rufure! You swore to do so, remember? Now keep your damn word!"

"Come back to us, Rufure!" Lissa agreed.

"I know it would take more than this to stop you, milady!" Frederick joined in, and the rest of their companions raised their voices as well. Pit straightened himself up and glanced at his companion, and Nemo nodded as he turned his attention back to the spot where Rufure once stood.

"Enough of this!" he demanded. "Rufure, if he can't take me, then he certainly can't take you!" Pit smiled and looked to the sky for a moment before turning his thoughts to the tactician.

"I don't care what it takes," he voiced. "I will give you Light!"

"Return to us, Rufure!" Chrom again called out. "Your bond with us is stronger than even the Fell Dragon's might!" And, from somewhere, came a reply. It was weak and quiet, but it was there.

"I'm coming, Chrom!" it said from wherever it came from. "Hold on!" And with that, space itself seemed to shatter as Rufure reappeared where she had been once before. Though she looked weak, the determination in her eyes burned brighter than ever before. Chrom smiled with relief, affection appearing in his eyes for a moment before he returned his gaze to Grima.

"Children of man, take my power!" Naga's voice echoed. "Rise now, and face the Fell Dragon!" A light again shined over them, and Pit felt rejuvenation return to his body as the Divine Dragon's power healed the Shepherds. "This is the last I can do..." he heard her whisper. "I place my trust in you."

"This is it!" Chrom called out. "This ends here. Come, my friends! Attack! Don't hold back! Give this fight all you've got!"

"All I've got..." Pit smiled, and he focused as he stretched his arm out. In a bright flash of light, Palutena's Bow appeared in his grip and two rings of light made themselves known around his right arm.

"What the heck is that?" Chrom inquired as he stared at the bow, and Pit grinned at him for a moment.

"The best weapon I've got right now," he replied. "Given to me by the goddess of Light herself." Chrom blinked, but sighed and shrugged. He and Rufure hurried forth toward Grima, and Lucina followed close behind them.

"Tell you what," Nemo said. "Go with them, and I'll handle things back here." Pit dipped his head, knowing better than to argue with Nemo when the darkness around them was so strong. He hurried to catch up with Lucina and couldn't help but smile. Having Palutena's Bow in his hand once again simply felt right- the one bow he knew he could always rely on no matter what foes he faced.

"_...Go..." _He almost stopped short in his tracks at the sound of the voice, so weak and quiet, somewhere in his mind. _"Save them... Protect her..." _His heart clenched and he blinked back the sudden tears that threatened to fall from his eyes.

"Lucina!" He called, shooting forth a glowing blue arrow that knocked back the Grimleal attacking her. He followed up with several weaker shots that felled the Grimleal quickly. Lucina turned around and stared at him blankly before alarm crossed her face.

"Behind you!" she warned, and he spun around and slashed one of the two blades across the chest of his assailant. The Grimleal stared at him as he fell to the ground, and Pit bit his lip as he ended the man's life as quickly as he was able.

"Hear my words, Awakener!" Naga called as he hurried over to join Lucina, and Chrom and Rufure were on the verge of approaching Grima for the final battle. "Grima's servants will beset you to no end. Dispatch him as soon as you are able! Once the fell one is weakened, a choice will await you... If Chrom lets fall the final blow, Grima shall survive but return to his slumber..."

"So be it," Chrom said rather flatly.

"If Rufure strikes in Chrom's stead, both her life and Grima's are forever over. Only in this way may the Fell Dragon be destroyed for good and all. The final descision... is yours." Pit blinked at this little piece of news. Of course, Rufure and Grima were one being in some ways. The only way for the Fell Dragon to truly die was by his own power, the same power that Rufure was said to wield.

"Let's end this," Chrom said quickly to his wife, and she nodded as they continued forward. Unfortunately, it seemed the Grimleal were dead set on protecting their master, and they quickly intercepted the pair.

"Pit!" Lucina again called, catching his attention. "Let's go!" He nodded and took the lead, some relief coming to him at the idea that he could finally stop posing as a simple archer and fight the way he was best at. He looked up at the sound of the Fell Dragon's roar and found his head preparing to strike.

"Hoo, boy!" He rolled to the side as a blast of darkness barely missed him.

"YOU..." Grima snapped as he drew closer. "YOU ARE... I HAVE SEEN YOU BEFORE..."

"Imagine me with white wings," he replied smugly, and the realization on Grima's face almost made him laugh.

"YOU ARE THAT CREATURE THAT INTERFERED WITH MY ATTACK! YOU SAVED THAT WRETCHED TINY DAUGHTER OF NAGA..." Grima growled, fists clenched. "WHAT ARE YOU? WHO ARE YOU TO DEFY YOUR GOD?!"

"That's the thing," Pit replied as he readied and arrow. "You're no god, Grima. I would know." He smirked. "I _am_ one."

"WHAT... NO, THAT ISN'T POSSIBLE..." Grima glared at him, rage rolling off him in waves. "DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU TO THE DEEPEST HELLS!"

"Go ahead," Pit snorted. "I'm good buddies with the lord of the Underworld. He'll let me go pretty quickly."

"GRAAGH!" With that, Grima sent forth another strike of the spikes he had attacked the Shepherds with before, but Pit sprung out of the way and countered, his arrow streaking through the air and striking his target cleanly. The Fell Dragon roared in pain as his human counterpart was attacked, but Grima remained standing. "WHAT ARE YOU BASTARDS DOING? GET RID OF HIM!"

"Whoop." Pit again dodged back, out of decent range against Grima, as several Grimleal came running at their master's beckoning. He took up a defensive stance and slashed out his blade, following up with the second, and his target fell to the dragon's back as Falchion finished him off. Once she was clear, Lucina fell in next to him as they fought off their assailants.

Meanwhile, Chrom and Rufure had managed to break through the guards and were ready to face off against the Fell Dragon themselves.

"I come to end you, Grima!" Chrom growled, preparing his Falchion while Rufure readied her tome.

"ARROGANT MORTAL..." Grima almost laughed. "I AM THE END!" Chrom shook his head and brought his blade down hard, and Rufure followed up with a cast of her magic. Grima growled as the Fell Dragon again howled in pain, but he countered and managed to knock Chrom back several paces. "I KILLED YOU ONCE," Grima went on. "I WILL DO SO AGAIN."

"Anything can change," Chrom replied. "If Rufure and Lucina have taught me anything, it's that we're not just pawns of some scripted fate." Rufure smiled weakly. "As long as I draw breath, I will not fail!" He pulled back his blade and struck with all the power he could muster, and Grima grunted as he stumbled back. Again, Rufure followed up and struck their target. Finally, Grima lost his footing and fell to his knees.

"NNGH... AAAAUGHHH..." Grima howled, struggling to keep from collapsing.

"Now, Rufure!" Chrom called. "This is our chance! I'm going to finish it!" He readied Falchion once more, but Rufure bit her lip and shoved him away. "Rufure?! Wait, what-"

"WHAT..." Grima growled as Rufure prepared a strike of magic rippling with the same power the Fell Dragon used. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"For once, I'm glad you and I are the same," Rufure replied. "Now I can give my life to protect those I care for..."

"YOU WOULD... NOT DARE!" Grima challenged, but Rufure shook her head.

"I would and I will. The evils you would visit on this world are unthinkable... In some way, I- we share the blame. It's only right that we meet our end together!"

"NOOOOOOO!" Grima shouted, loud enough to shake Skyworld, and Rufure released her attack. The blast sent Grima sprawling, and he faded away in darkness. Not a moment later, Rufure began to as well.

"Rufure!" Chrom cried out. "No!"  
"Thank you, Chrom," she smiled. "For everything... Tell the others... my last thoughts were of them..." She shut her eyes. "May we meet again, in a better life..."

"Rufure!" Chrom cried again. "No! Ah gods, NO!" Rufure merely waved to him as she faded from sight, leaving nothing behind. Chrom fell to his knees, Falchion clattering to the Fell Dragon's now-lifeless back as he mumbled Rufure's name again and again, as if to call her back as his tears streaked his face.

"It is finished..." Naga's voice echoed, and the Grimleal ceased their attacks- whether out of defeat or because they were released from Grima's spell, Pit would never know. The Divine Dragon's light shined over them once more, removing them from the dragon's back as he began to crash toward the earth below.


	20. Chapter XIX: A Choice

Despite victory, a shadow of sorrow hung over the Shepherds. Pit and Nemo had taken their leave, instead choosing to watch from afar. The sun shone overhead, but even its rays seemed weak compared to the clouds of grief for the lost tactician. Pit crossed his arms and sighed, and Nemo placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Hopefully Rem will recover now, right?" Pit said as he turned his head, and Nemo smiled weakly.

"I certainly hope so... and I still need to talk to Henry about his choice. But..." his smile faded. "This isn't quite the time for that, is it?"

"Not entirely," Pit agreed glumly, then turned his attention back to the Shepherds as Chrom took his place up front to address them.

"The war is ended, my friends," he began. "Never again will the Fell Dragon trouble our world. I owe you all far more than words can ever repay. Especially Rufure, who gave herself to save us all. To save all the worlds to come."

"P-Poor Rufure," Lissa sobbed. "After everything she did for us..."

"Don't cry, Lissa," Chrom told her, though even from a distance, Pit could see he was wrestling with tears of his own. "We'll see her again. I'm sure of it. Remember what Naga said? That Rufure would survive if our ties were strong enough. This isn't over. I believe Rufure is out there... somewhere... And I'll find her. If it takes me the rest of my days, I'll find her..."

The Shepherds voiced their agreement in everything from murmurs to cheers to cries. Pit looked up to the sky, to the clouds masking his home so far above, and swallowed softly.

"She's out there somewhere," he said softly. "No one is ever lost forever. Even if Rufure is dead, her soul will live on."

"Aye," Nemo agreed. "But I don't think she's truly dead, Pit. And..." he smiled. "If she isn't, I'll give her a little push back to this world. They'll need her here for a while yet." Pit turned to face him.

"Isn't that kind of breaking the rules?" he asked lightly, and Nemo eyed him with a glint of humor within.

"Well, they say you're the defender of life while I am the overseer of death. Do I have your permission to make sure she stays on the Overworld a little while longer?"  
"Permission granted," Pit laughed softly. "Her sacrifice saved more than Chrom and his army. It saved our entire world." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "She saved Skyworld... she saved Kuro." He sighed. "I'll be eternally in her debt."

"Eternity's a long time," Nemo chuckled. "But I suppose that's ultimately up to you." They turned their attention back to the Shepherds as Chrom spoke up again.

"Rufure has secured for us all the most precious gift: A future. Now it falls upon our shoulders to protect what was given. I vow to give my all to healing the damage this war has wrought upon this realm. When Rufure returns, I want her to see what her sacrifice brought." He paused and looked to the sky. "Rufure... if you can hear me... You will always have a place here with us. Remember that. Always."

"Now, how can I say no to that face?" Nemo said, and Pit laughed. "But I guess that begs the question of what you'll do now, huh?"  
"What do you mean?" Pit wondered, tipping his head to the side.

"About Lucina. Neither of you are exactly meant to be in this time, and how long do you think you can keep hiding?" Pit hesitated before opening his mouth to reply.

"You cannot," an echoing voice suddenly spoke up, and the gods whirled around to find three stunning, feminine forms behind them. Pit almost instantly recognized the Keeper of Destiny that oversaw the cycle of angels, and quickly deduced that the other two must have been Keepers as well. All three glowed with an otherworldly light, though it was soft and warm. Both Pit and Nemo bowed briefly, humbled to be in their presence.

"Great Fates," Nemo spoke softly. "How may we be of assistance?"

"We come on behalf of Master Aeon and the flow of time," the three said in unison. "Lord Pit, understand this: Though we were lenient for these years as the travelers from the future were necessary, Grima is vanquished and they are no longer needed. This includes you. It is unnatural for multiple beings to exist bearing the same soul. You and the one you call Kuro are an exception, simply because there is only one soul." Pit blinked before dipping his head.

"So... what happens to them? To us?" he wondered, and they raised their arms in a request for silence. He complied.

"We will give the future travelers a choice. We will alter their souls enough so that they do not clash with the children that will come into this world. They must also avoid personal contact with their parents as much as possible, and they may not bear children. All of these actions would disrupt the natural flow of time more than they already have."

"So... they would live out their lives, just without their families?"

"To an extent," the Fate with long brown hair, garbed in a red dress with sleeves covering her hands, replied. "The future travelers Lucina and Morgan may remain together as brother and sister, and they may all still interact with one another."

"The only other choice we can grant them is to cease to exist," the third Fate, one with short white hair garbed in green, continued. "And this is the only option we can present to you, Lord Pit. Forgive us, but there is no other way." Pit looked down, crestfallen, but nodded.

"I understand," he said glumly.

"That brings us to the topic of the princess," the winged Keeper went on. "Lucina. You have fallen in love with her, and she with you, have you not?" Pit nodded. "Lord Pit... you have done much for the Celestial Balance, put yourself in harm's way on more than one occasion to protect it, nearly lost your life several times." She sighed. "We realize we made a blunder when we reincarnated your father." Pit looked up in surprise. "Though Ephraim is a fine angel, it hurts you to see him, does it not? Perhaps you even wish we had allowed him to continue on as normal, so that you wouldn't have to live with the knowledge that you look after the soul that once belonged to Ephram." Pit nodded slightly.

"Allow us to make this up to you as best we can," the other Keepers said. "Summon the girl. Bring Lucina to us." Pit blinked again several times, dumbfounded and slightly frightened as to what they wanted with her.

"I will," he replied, knowing better than to act against the Fates. "Excuse me." He dipped his head and hurried off toward the Shepherds as they broke the meeting, instead simply talking amongst themselves and doing as they saw fit before they began to go their separate ways.

"Lucina!" he called, and she looked up at his beckoning as he approached. She smiled, though he could see the pain of losing her mother in her eyes. She nodded to Kjelle and Severa before walking over to join him.

"There you are," she said with relief in her voice. "I was starting to wonder if you had run off." Her smile faded. "That you left without saying good-bye."

"This isn't good-bye," he replied as he took her hand in both of his. "But I do need you to come with me right now."

"Pit..." She must have seen the urgency in his eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"I think so," he admitted. "Just... this can't wait." He lowered his voice. "You really don't want to keep those that determine fate waiting." She blinked and nodded again.

"O-Okay... give me one moment." He released her hand and she hurried back over to her companions. She said something quickly to them before waving and returning to him, and they watched her with confusion as she left. Without another word, he led her back to where Nemo and the Keepers were waiting, and she gasped and nearly fell with a stumble once she saw them. "W-who... what...?" She asked softly, and Pit took her hand again and led her closer.

"Our greetings to you, Lucina," they said, again in unison. "We are the Fates whom oversee this world. Some have come to call us the Keepers of Destiny."

"You..." Lucina breathed. "You determine fate?"

"We oversee fate," they replied. "But none is written in stone. The course of destiny can be altered, as you and Nemo have proven." Nemo lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable as Pit recalled his companion's crusade so long ago. Though he may have failed in his goal, he still changed the course of history drastically. "However, time itself cannot be changed. Though its river may travel to a different destination, it must flow as originally intended."

"...What do you mean?" the princess asked, a trace of fear in her voice as she observed the Keepers with wide eyes.

"Your companions cannot continue existing as they are now, lest the presence of their souls interfere with the children that will be born to this world. And furthermore, we have little choice than to alter the memories of those from this time." Lucina blinked.

"Alter? Why? How?"

"Any recollection of you and your companions from a future will be vague at best," the Fate in red explained. "You cannot continue to directly interfere with time's flow, and they cannot know you did. Your father will recall a guide who helped him defeat Grima, but he will not know you are his daughter from a time that no longer exists."

"Then..." She looked down, grief in her eyes. "What will we do? Will we just cease to exist too?"

"No," the Keepers responded. "As we have told Lord Pit and Master Nemo, you who traveled from a future will be given a choice: You may simply cease to be, just as your time has, or we will alter your souls just enough that they will not interfere with those that exist or will come to be in this time. Should you remain in this realm, you may not directly interfere with the flow of time unless you have no other choice, you will not bear children of your own to protect the natural flow of time, and you will have as little contact with your families from this time as possible." Lucina bowed her head and shut her eyes.

"We would be here, but only until our deaths..." she mumbled. "But it would give us a chance to see the world we fought so hard for. We would know our parents are safe and Grima no longer threatens us..." She sighed. "That is what we all wanted above all else. I'm sure the others will understand and adapt."

"There's... one more thing, Lucina," Pit said glumly, and she turned her head to rest her gaze on him. Worry became evident on her face as she watched him. "I... don't get that choice. No matter what you choose, I as myself won't exist anymore." He looked down as well. "And I think I know why. Beyond the fact that I'm immortal, there can't be two beings drawing on the exact same power. And I guess you could say my soul is fragile." The Keepers nodded slowly.

"But..." Lucina looked from him back to the Keepers, desperation creeping into her voice. "Then what am I to do?" Her eyes glistened as she watched them. "I-I love him! I can't just accept that you're going to do away with him and leave me here!"

"Calm yourself, traveler," the winged Keeper commanded, and Lucina fell silent. "You have done great things in the few years you have been in this realm. And Lord Pit..." her gaze drifted from Lucina to him, "As we said, we would like to grant you one final gift if you would so accept." Pit blinked. "Though you as an entity will cease to be, we will grant your thoughts and memories you experienced to your natural existence of this time, should he accept them. Even if you are him, in a way, we cannot force him to accept such a measure." Pit nodded slowly.

"That brings us to you, young human," the red-clad Keeper continued, turning her gaze to Lucina. "Understand this now. What we offer you is not a gift. It is merely another choice that you, and you alone, will have." Perhaps it was his imagination, but Pit thought the Keeper had placed a bit of emphasis on "alone," or as much as they could emphasize something. He bit his lip. "There is a price you will have to pay."

"I understand," Lucina said slowly. "I will hear your offer." The Keepers all again nodded.

"You will be given a place in Skyworld." Pit's heart nearly stopped as he stared at them. "For all purposes, you will basically become an angel. We will craft your body into that of an immortal and give strength to your soul." Lucina took a deep breath and exhaled softly as she listened. "And, of course, you will be with Lord Pit." She turned her gaze to him, but he did and said nothing.

"And the price I will pay for this?" she asked hesitantly.

"You will become immortal while your companions, your family, remain mortal," the Keepers continued. "They will age and pass from this realm to the next, and there will be nothing you can do to stop the cycle of mortal life."

"So... Father and Morgan... I would eventually be forced to watch them die and be unable to join them in the next life. And Mother, if she is alive... Owain and Inigo, Cynthia, Gerome... all of them."

"Yes," the Keepers confirmed. "But that is not all. Should you choose this life, there must be a reason for your existence as an immortal being." It seemed every time he encountered the Keepers, Pit realized more and more that they were barely allowing Kuro to survive as his own being.

"A reason?" Lucina echoed.

"You will become the guardian of peace in the human world," they elaborated. "Should conflict rise again- and it will- you will have to put an end to it as quickly as possible without divine intervention of the gods. You may not choose a side on your own whim, but simply do whatever it takes to end the conflict as soon as possible. And you must consider the world as a whole: The Celestial Balance, the natural order, and the impact of conflict on the three realms respectively."

"In other words," the green-garbed Keeper spoke on her own, "You will be eternally bound to conflict and to oversee human life." Her gaze drifted to Pit. "And so, Lord Pit, we grant you this agent." Pit blinked, confused. "If she and Ephraim cannot restore peace without destruction, then..." she glanced to Nemo. "So shall life be rewritten by Master Nemo and his bloodline." Nemo grunted in surprise and looked from her to Pit and back.

"But, honorable Fate, I-"

"Such is the deal you made before your duel," she interrupted, and he sighed as he nodded.

"So... it will become my duty to defend the humans until they simply can't be saved," Lucina said softly, and the Keepers dipped their heads.

"You will also lose your ties to this realm," the red-garbed Keeper added. "While you will remain a bearer of Falchion, you will no longer be a denizen of the Overworld. You may not interfere with this realm's affairs outside of conflict, and this includes unnecessary conflict with your former companions. And know this, child. There is no guarantee that Pit's existence of this time will, so to speak, fall for you once more."  
"I..." Lucina sighed heavily and lowered her head, and Pit placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Lucina, please," he pleaded. "Don't. This is too much... don't do this for my sake. You've fought so hard to see peace. I don't want you to have to live tied to violence." She turned her head toward him, her eyes glistening. "I couldn't ask this of you."

"I know," she replied, placing her hand over his. "And you aren't. It's my choice." Despite the pain in her eyes, she smiled softly. "And it won't be forever. There will peace. I know you'll protect it. And I'll be able to do more with my life in this role. I would gladly fight to protect others from the horrors of war that I have seen. I... If I could make it so, no one would suffer the way I did. And..." She glanced back in the direction of the Shepherds as they began to disperse. "What can I do here, Pit? That baby back at Ylisstol will grow to become Ylisse's princess. She will be well-known by the brand in her eye. The others, even Morgan, may be able to live on normally with certain measures taken. But..." She sighed. "I'm tired of wearing a mask, Pit." He nodded.

"I understand... But I want to be sure: You're not just doing this for me."

"No," she agreed. "Not entirely." He looked down, his grip on her shoulder tightening.

"Then I swear to you, it will work out between you and me." He looked back up and smiled. "I fell for you once. I can do it again. I have no doubts in my mind that my other self or whatever will come to love you like I do." She smiled, affection sparkling in her eyes.

"I believe you." She turned back to the Keepers. "Very well. I will accept your offer. I will shed my life here to begin one in the heavens."

"As you have chosen," they said, three voices as one. "You may say your good-byes to your companions from your time, but do not tell them just where it is you are going. And Lord Pit..." Their gazes came to rest on him. "It is time."

"Alright," he acknowledged and turned again to Lucina. "I'll see you in Skyworld, then." She smiled and nodded. "And..." he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Tell Morgan to find the Overworld Fortress." She blinked and watched him curiously as he released her shoulder and approached the Keepers.

"I have one question," Nemo spoke up. "You said the humans will lose their memories of the future travelers or however you put it. How does this impact Henry?"

"Yes, your son," the red-garbed Keeper acknowledged. "Have you not answered your own question, Master Nemo?" He stared at her quizzically. "Henry is your son. Is he human?"

"No..." a smile spread across Nemo's face. "Okay, stupid question. Thank you." He turned to Pit. "And good luck, my friend."

"See you soon," Pit replied, then turned his attention back to the Keepers as he took a deep breath. "I'm ready." They raised their arms gently, and a warm wind swept across his body as he felt his feet lift from the ground, his being gain a feeling of weightlessness as a light shined around him. With a soft smile on his face, he closed his eyes, and his form dissipated into flecks of light that the winged Keeper gathered.

"Pit..." Lucina said softly, a trace of fear on her face.

"Say your farewells, child," they instructed. "We will return for you soon." She nodded, and they departed for Skyworld without another word.

And up in the heavens, within the bright halls of the Skyworld Temple, footsteps echoed along with the soft rustling of wings. Strangely, no Centurions patrolled the corridors, causing some annoyance to spark within the god of Light's mind.

"I'll have to have a word with them," he muttered as he headed for the doors at the front of the temple, considering a flight around the islets in the warm sunlight. It was strange: It was like a weight had been lifted from the world, a darkness dispelled, and he had no idea why or how. Nemo seemed to have been acting up: maybe he simply had been putting an end to some misbehavior somewhere. "I should pay him a visit... It's been a while since I've seen him."

He stopped, however, both in thought and movement, as the winged Keeper of Destiny appeared before him, her soft eyes watching him. He blinked, his heart hammering in his chest. Ephraim was fine, wasn't he? There hadn't been any attacks on Skyworld. He couldn't come up with any reason for her to be paying him a visit.

"Greetings, Lord Pit," she nodded, and he bowed briefly.

"Milady," he replied, "To what do I owe this visit?" She pulled apart her wings to reveal a light that, upon the sight of it, made him feel a bit dizzy.

"I have something for you," she told him softly. "Seventeen years from now, you would depart from Skyworld and take the guise of a human to fight against the Fell Dragon. You would fail in that time. And so, you would blend yourself in a group of young humans and journey to this time to avert the catastrophic future you came from." He stared at her, dumbfounded. "And you would be successful."

"Wait, wait... what?" he stuttered, unable to think of anything else to say.

"The answers you seek are right here," she said. "These, Lord Pit, are the memories and thoughts amassed by your future self. He no longer exists on his own, as dictated by the laws of time. You can, however, choose to accept what he had to teach you, to learn about the world you saved." She paused. "Much has changed since you last visited the Overworld, Lord Pit. You are out of touch. It is the reason you failed and the world was nearly destroyed by the Fell Dragon." He blinked. "As you acknowledged in that future that you ignored the needs of the humans and nearly let them be destroyed." He felt his heart clench in his chest.

"I... I wouldn't..." he protested weakly, but her unwavering gaze told him otherwise. "So... that light you have. Those are my future self's memories?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "And I would grant to them, should you allow me to."

"That seems faster than you explaining everything," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Fine. Show me these mistakes I made." He could barely believe he would turn a blind eye to the humans for so long, wouldn't accept it unless he had solid proof. And that proof lay in the light in the possession of the Keeper.

"You may be shocked, Lord Pit," she cautioned. "You will not anticipate what these memories hold."

"Understood," he agreed. "Please, milady. Show me." She spread her wings further and the light she held gravitated toward him, streaming into his head as he closed his eyes.

And oh, how those memories shocked him.

Death, destruction, a colossal dragon he could barely believe existed. He felt his heart pound in his chest as he relived the battles his future self had experienced, the two years of traveling with a masked girl, Nemo's reunion with his missing son, his final fight against Grima with Palutena's Bow in hand, and his brief meeting with the Keepers.

The masked girl.

He had stayed with her for over two years, kept her safe, saved her aunt's life, fought at her side even after she revealed herself as Chrom's daughter. He had argued with her over the Divine Dragon Naga, revealed himself as the god of Light, refused to acknowledge the spark in his heart whenever she was around. His face flushed at the recollection of her catching him in the Hot Spring, even more so at his revelation. He'd promised her so much.

And yet, these were only memories. He knew what his future self had felt, but felt none of it himself.

"She... she's coming here," he said softly, opening his eyes, still lost in what he had just witnessed.

"Yes," the Keeper replied softly. And, without a word to her, he tore forth and out the temple doors, taking flight as soon as he was clear to toward the central islet of Skyworld.


	21. Chapter XX: Reintroduction

"Mngh..." Lucina groaned, her body feeling like a lead weight. Her mind was foggy, and it took several moments for her to recall anything, like something had completely blown away her memory for a time. She felt something cold, metal, nudge the skin of her arm, and she groggily opened her eyes and blinked in the bright light. "What..." She found herself lying on her side, partially curled up, and warm stone was beneath her. She smelled grass and felt a soft breeze tickle her face.

"You finally awake?" a guarded voice inquired, and she looked up to find someone standing over her. He was garbed in a white tunic clasped over his shoulder and black shorts with an undershirt of the same color. He wore brown strapped boots that ended in sandals and had a cuff of armor on each wrist- one a pale gold and the other a warm brown with bright green lines forming a blue diamond on one side.

She didn't reply, but continued blinking until her vision overcame the bright light of the sun and she could finally see his face clearly. And immediately, she knew she had seen that face before. But this one was framed by messy black bangs, the rest of his hair slightly tamed by a golden laurel crown, and he watched her with burning red eyes. The metal object that had nudged her had been the flat side of a blade similar to the bow Pit had wielded in the fight against Grima. This one, however, was red compared to Pit's blue. From his back came full, beautiful white wings that rustled gently in the wind.

"Who are you?" he asked somewhat flatly, distrust evident in his eyes. She sat up and rubbed her head as she continued to watch him. Once the cloud over her memory finally cleared, and smiled as a realization came to her mind.

"You're Kuro, aren't you?" she wondered, and he stared at her as he pulled his bow into a slightly more defensive position. "You're Pit's brother! I can see the resemblance."

"Maybe," he replied, basically confirming her suspicions. "Who wants to know?"

"My name is Lucina," she said as she got to her feet, and she nearly stumbled over as she tried to regain her balance. Kuro's hand shot out to help her before he withdrew it hesitantly.

"Lucina, huh?" he repeated. "What are you doing here? How did you even get here?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "All I know is that the Fates or Keepers or whomever they were sent me here."

"The Keepers?" he scoffed, shaking his head slightly and crossing his arms. "Uh huh."

"I'm serious!" she insisted, flinching under his sarcastic stare. "I had said my good-byes to my friends and the Keepers... I'm not entirely sure what they did, but I blacked out and now I'm here. I was told I'm to serve as the guardian of the humans." At that point, she noticed Falchion still sheathed in its scabbard tied to her belt, and she unsheathed it with a gleam of light. Kuro jumped back and readied his bow, setting himself in a defensive position.

"The humans' guardian?" he repeated flatly and sighed. "Okay, you've worn out my patience. Get out of my sight and away from my home!"

"Kuro!" a voice called. "Enough! She's not our enemy!" Lucina turned and looked up just as another person landed on the islet where she stood.

Her heart skipped a beat and fluttered in her chest as she felt her face flush. He was garbed in two white robes, one over the other, and wore a dark navy undershirt and shorts underneath. He had off-golden shoulder guards and armor over his forearms, and heavily strapped sandals with a white cloth over his right leg. Nestled in his warm brown hair was a laurel crown with a slight curl on the ends and chains of longer leaves hanging from it on either side. His blue eyes watched her in disbelief as he held a staff she had seen only one other time two years previous. His sparkling, full white wings rustled and twitched as they came to rest on his back.

Needless to say, he looked more radiant than she could ever have imagined. And yet, she could easily recognize the face that had been with her since she came back from the future.

"Pit..." she breathed, a smile growing on her face. And before she could think about it, she jumped forward and threw her arms around him, her face nestled in his shoulder as she could barely believe it was him.

"Uh..." he grunted, and her eyes flew open as she stepped back sheepishly.

"Right... I'm sorry. I forgot..." He watched her with a wide gaze, and several times he opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but closed it a moment later.

"Good gravy," he finally breathed. "You... You're real. All of that was real. I really did come back from the future with you and... all that stuff with Grima and Rufure and Nemo..." His gaze lost focus, like he was staring at whatever it was going through his head.

"Wait, what? What do you mean you came back from the future?!" Kuro demanded. "And you know this girl?"

"Sort of," Pit replied as he turned to his twin, and Lucina shifted her weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. "Um... You know that day you came to me and asked me why I had been bothering you the night before, and I said I had no idea what you were talking about?" Kuro nodded. "Turns out you weren't dreaming. That was my future self, I think. Apparently he- I- whatever- had something of a nightmare where a giant evil dragon invaded Skyworld and..." he swallowed. "Killed you. Bad. There wasn't even a snowball's chance on Phoenix Mountain that I could have saved you." Kuro's expression turned a shade pale for a moment.

"...Oh."

"Anyway, yeah. Kuro, from what I understand, this is Lucina," he gestured to her, and she nodded. "Comes from the future about seventeen years from now and she's the daughter of the prince of Ylisse. That blade she has is the same one Marth used way back when."

"Ah," Kuro nodded. "That was an interesting fight to watch. How many dragons did he kill?"

"A lot, and even more under his command," Pit replied. "Viridi wasn't happy with him."

"Wait, wait, wait," Lucina interrupted. "You knew the Hero-King?"

"We knew of him," Pit explained. "I never met him personally, but I kept an eye on his journey to make sure he was going in the right direction."

"I see, I think," she mumbled. "To think you've been around that long..."

"Even longer," Pit laughed. "But I'll tell you more about it later."

"Yeah," Kuro sighed. "So what exactly is she doing here? She said the Keepers sent her and that she was gonna be the humans' guardian or something."

"She is," Pit dipped his head, and Kuro stared at him. "Look, Kuro... I'll explain everything as best I can later. But right now, I'd like to talk with Lucina and show her around her new home. She's going to be here a while." Kuro watched him a moment longer before he finally shrugged.

"Fine. If you say so. But you'd better fill me in later!"  
"I will," Pit laughed. "But first, I have to make sure I'm filled in too." He turned to Lucina and smiled sheepishly. "Well, much as this is probably silly to you, I feel like I should formally introduce myself. I am Pit, the god of Light and ruler of Skyworld." She smiled as he took her hand in his and kissed it briefly. "And if my memory is right, you're Princess Lucina of Ylisse, daughter of the Exalted prince Chrom and his wife Rufure, and you have a brother by the name of Morgan, right?" She nodded. "I..." He turned around, and Kuro sighed heavily before flying off without a word. Lucina watched him go with awe on her face.

"He really can fly..." she turned to him, her eyes shimmering. "Please, tell me. What's it like?"

"Well," he chuckled. "I can tell you, or I can show you." He grinned and rested one hand on his hip, the other wrapped loosely around his staff. "Tell me, Lucina, have you actually taken a look at yourself since you got here?"

"No..." she admitted without really thinking about it, and his smile grew.

"Then maybe you should." And so, she did, and was nearly shocked by what she found. She now wore a sleeveless white tunic with a brown, gold-trimmed belt wrapped twice around her waist that her scabbard hung from. She wore black leggings that came to her ankles and dark brown sandals strapped around her ankles, and on each wrist she had a fingerless, pale blue glove.

"My point is this," he smiled as he walked behind her, and she nearly jumped at his touch. But it confused her- what exactly had his fingers brushed against? She turned her neck and looked over shoulder, and let out an exasperated breath at the sight of the wings on her back, their white feathers sparkling in the sunlight.

"I... I have wings!" she stammered before she could think about it.

"You do," he agreed humorously. "You'll have to wait for them to grow and mature a bit before you can fly on your own." He snorted a bit and shook his head, though his grin remained. "We've all got to pay our dues before we can fly."

"What do you mean?" she wondered, turning to face him.

"It took me about thirty years of growth before I could finally fly on my own," he explained. "And that's after I came to Skyworld. So I guess it was thirty-five, counting the time I was human." His smile faded for a moment before he shook his head lightly and it returned. "Anyway, I think the best way for you to see Skyworld is from the air."

"But you just said I can't fly," she pointed out, and he replied by pointing his staff at her. A bright, sparkling blue-white light emitted from her wings and he lept into the air, spreading his own as she rose as well with shock on her face.

"P-Pit!" she gasped as she gained a bit of altitude and leveled out. "I... I'm flying! I can't believe I'm actually flying!" Her smile was bright as the wind whipped her blue hair out behind her, and he directed her flight path as he led the way toward the Skyworld Temple.

"That would be my doing," he replied. "The Power of Flight. You can only use it for five minutes at a time. After that..."

"Your wings burn," she finished quietly, and he turned his head to glance at her.

"I guess I told you about that," he said, and she nodded. "And you saw the scars on my back." Again, she nodded. "But don't worry, Lucina. I won't let that happen to you."

"Thank you, Pit," she smiled, and he returned it before looking forward again. She glanced around the islets below, her eyes wide with wonder. "I can barely believe this is all real," she admitted. "I mean... I know you said it was beautiful, but this is... this is breathtaking!" He grinned, glancing over the green grasses below, the streams and springs of clear water, the small shrines and shelters scattered amongst the islets. "You didn't do this land justice when you told me about it."

"Some things just can't be explained," he replied. "Anyway, if you'll kindly direct your attention ahead, that's the Skyworld Temple. I live there." Her eyes trained forward to the temple, and she smiled a bit as her gaze fell on the statue standing tall and proud above it, staff gripped, bow held high, wings spread why, and eyes trained for the skies overhead.

"What a magnificent statue," she remarked, and he felt his face flush as the wind brushed against it.

"The Centurions built it while I was unconscious for several weeks," he said. "I had just defeated the god of Space in battle and almost lost my life in the process. And I probably would have if Kuro and Viridi had gotten to me even a moment later."

"Who is Viridi?" Lucina wondered, and he turned his head again to face her.

"She's the very temperamental goddess of Nature that may or may not despise humanity," he replied with a smirk on his face. "The Taguel and the Manaketes you- we- fought with? She created them in an effort to bring human-like races closer to the earth. But..." his smile faded. "I guess some of them backfired. Especially the dragons."

"I see," Lucina mumbled. "I would like to meet her someday."

"I'm sure you will, when she barges into my temple demanding to know why you're here." He meant it as a joke, but it seemed she didn't take it as such. "Uh, anyway." His eyes looked back to the statue for a moment, and he sighed. "'With bow in hand, he casts back shadow. With staff held high, he brings the land Light.' That's what the Centurions and several others have taken to saying about me. But..." He shook his head. "I'm not all-powerful, Lucina. I have my own faults and weaknesses. I would probably have died several times over without people to support me, like Kuro. And..." Again, he turned to her. "I hope I can come to rely on you in the same way." She smiled and her face flushed as she nodded.

They turned and headed across the mainland of Skyworld, and he pointed out any locations of key interest- Kuro's home, the training arena, the Hot Springs, and the central plaza where they held meetings as necessary. It had been a lot for her to take in, but she listened to everything he had to say with great interest and observed it all with an excited gaze. As they approached the limit of the Power of Flight, he sighed.

"There's someone I want you to meet," he said rather glumly, and she watched him curiously as he led her to the gardens some distance away from the temple.

"Who is that?" she wondered as the statue placed there came into clear view. He said nothing until they had landed and the light around her wings faded.

"This is Lady Palutena," he finally replied. "The goddess of Light before me. She was my master and predecessor." He fell silent for a moment. "She passed during a conflict for the world over a millennium ago- the same one that led me to make my bargain with Nemo." He looked up to the face of the departed goddess, the faint and familiar pang of grief making itself known in his heart. "And that's why you're here, isn't it? If you can't bring the humans to peace, then I've failed to teach them and they'll be wiped out. Nemo will start again, and I won't be able to stop him." She nodded slowly, but remained silent. "Look, Lucina, this is something you should learn now before something bad happens..." his throat tightened. "If I understand these memories as well as I think I do, then I'd be crushed if something happened to you. I... I don't want to lose you too."

"Pit..." She stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"In our world, I don't think a being exists that can't die," he began. "Being immortal basically means that you won't die by natural causes and you really won't age past a certain point unless you really want to for whatever reason. But we can still be killed." He paused. "And there are two ways I can think of that it can happen. The first way is, to me, the scariest. If something steals your soul and destroys it, then there'll be nothing left of you to survive. I... I've lost my soul several times, but Kuro has always protected it somehow. I'd be long gone if it wasn't for him." He tore his gaze from the statue and returned it to Lucina. "The second way is basically that enough damage is done to your body and it can't be repaired. That's the thing, Lucina. I'm the god of Light and ruler of Skyworld, so it's my duty to protect my angels and the Centurions. Even if something would possibly be enough to kill you, I have the ability to pull you back and fix you up." He looked down and sighed. "The only problem is that the world has gotten more dangerous. It's getting harder to not pass that threshold of what's too much for me to repair."

"I understand," she said softly. "I'll be careful, Pit. I swear it." He looked to her again and smiled a bit.

"And I'll do what I can to protect you," he replied. "Look... Lucina, you probably don't want to hear this, but I don't feel the same way my future self did- does- will, whatever. But I do know that he promised you that I could fall for you all over again." She smiled and gently touched his cheek. He had to admit, something about it brought him a sense of comfort. "I can't promise anything, but I will do my best, okay?"

"Very well," she nodded. "I'll try not to push you. And in the meantime, I'll have to get used to living up here, won't I?" He smiled. "And I hope you'll allow me to join your army in training."

"You're already better than most of the army," he laughed. "Though Ephraim may be able to give you a run for your money. And you may want to practice with a weapon that can attack from a range. I know Falchion there is a strong blade, but it just won't be enough compared to some of the stuff you may find yourself up against."

"I'm sure I'll learn," she agreed. "Though I hope you'll be there to help me along."

"Of course," he nodded. "I want to get to know you better anyway. And..." he sighed softly. "Eternity is a long time to be tied to conflict, Lucina. I want to make the time away from the fighting the best it can be for you."

"Thank you, Pit," she took her hand in both of his. "I have faith that you will. Though..." she paused, hesitating. "There is one more thing I would request of you."

"Anything," he replied with a smile. "I'll do the best I can." Her face flushed, to his confusion, but she said nothing else.

Instead, she took a step closer to him and softly touched her lips to his. His face blushed as well as he blinked, completely clueless of what to do or how to respond. She pulled back after a moment and looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I just... couldn't wait any longer."

"Lucina..." Without really thinking about it, he pulled her closer again, his hands placed gently on her arms, and kissed her himself. Her arms came to rest over his shoulders and he shut his eyes as he broke it and held her softly against him in a warm embrace. It was a strange feeling to him, but it seemed to make her happy. He wanted her to be happy. And with that came a warmth in his heart he could find no explanation for.


	22. Epilogue: Welcoming

"So, this is the famous Henry, huh?" Viridi inquired as Nemo and his family arrived at the Skyworld Temple. Nemo smiled as his youngest son stepped forward and shrugged.

"The one and only!" he replied with a laugh. "And you must be Viridi, the goddess of Nature, right? Dad told me a lot about you."

"Good things, I hope!" she snapped at Nemo, who simply smiled and laughed.

"Mostly," he mumbled, and she rolled her eyes.

"Well, anyway, I'm glad you made it," Pit greeted as he and Nemo shook hands. "Good to finally meet you for real, Henry. You look good!" Henry grinned and waved him off. The former Plegian had shed his robes of a dark mage and instead now garbed himself in a sleeveless dark blue, nearly black, tunic lined in a lighter blue belted at the waist. Underneath, he wore a light gray, long-sleeved layer with golden arm bands and lining. He wore black leggings and gold shoes not unlike the ones he had before. He also garbed himself in a cape not unlike the one Lucina had worn before coming to Skyworld, black on the outside and a dark purple on the inside, held by a clasp bearing the insignia of Darkness. Nemo had once said that the clasp specified Light and Darkness, but showed whatever element was currently stronger within Henry's being. Pit had never seen it show Light.

"You're too kind," Henry laughed. "But thanks."

"And how about you, Rem?" Pit asked as he turned his attention to Nemo's eldest son. Remiel smiled as well and dipped his head.

"I'm a lot better, thanks to you and Father," he answered. "And I'm glad Mother was kind enough to stop doting on me all the time." Levica stared at him with a scoff before snickering herself.

"You'll have to forgive me for wanting to take care of my ailing son!" she interjected, and he turned and hugged her briefly.

"And I appreciate it, Mother," he replied. "But when I'm actually ill. I've been fine for months!"

"I know... but I worry about you and your brother." From what Pit had been told, Levica's reunion with Henry had been nothing short of tearful, at least on her part. Remiel and his little brother had quickly become inseparable, and Rem had taken it on as his task to teach Henry how to utilize his abilities to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, Henry's chaotic tendencies clashed a bit with Remiel's preference for order, but he was learning.

"I swear, you're all ganging up on me," Viridi sighed, and Pit turned to her. She had finally grown a bit since the battle with Mastema, looking more along the lines of a young teenager rather than a child by human standards. No one dared mention it, lest they incur her sarcastic wrath that gave Kuro a run for his title.

"Hey, I have no such plans!" he argued lightly, and she smiled at him. "Anyway, seriously, help yourself to food and drinks. There's plenty!"

"Yeah, now that it stopped trying to kill us," Kuro chuckled as he came into the room, carrying a rather large roasted bird. "I'm never letting you cook by yourself again."

"Okay, so it's not one of my talents," Pit shrugged. "Thanks for helping."

"Hey, Rem!" Ephraim weaved his way through the assembled group to his friend, and the two exchanged their greetings as the first prince of the Underworld introduced his brother.

"Nice décor," Nemo remarked as he came over to speak with the god of Light. "You do it yourself, or did the Centurions and Lucina help you?"

"Okay, so I went a little overboard," Pit admitted with a grin, looking around at the lights, the streamers, and the flowers, all colored bright greens, yellows, blues, and whites. There was a bit of pink as well, as per Lucina's request- apparently it was a tradition in human circles, but he had no idea why.

"Nah, it looks good," Nemo said. "Not to mention it seems you'll do anything and everything to throw a party."

"Yeah... keep Kuro away from the alcohol this time."

"I didn't know his mouth could be even more unhinged," Nemo agreed with a chuckle. "But anyway, where's the guest of honor?"

"She'll be here soon," Pit smiled, pride in his heart as he adjusted the bracelet now worn on his left wrist. It was a rather simple silver clasp bearing the Mark of the Exalt. He couldn't exactly marry anyone as far as he knew of- what higher power could he go to for the union? And so, he had decided to have the bracelets made in place of traditional rings. Lucina wore a matching brace with the crest of the god of Light on her left wrist.

"Well, don't keep us all in suspense for too long," Nemo teased. "Though I really am happy for you, Pit. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Nemo," Pit smiled. "For everything." Nemo nodded, then stepped back quickly as a Centurion came running in.

"Lord Pit, sir!" he panted. "L-Lady Lucina will be here momentarily." Pit nodded.

"Thank you," he said, dismissing the messenger, and headed for the room's entrance. He took a deep breath. "If I could have everyone's attention!" he called, and a hush fell over the room. "Wow. I seriously can't tell you how happy I am that I'm not giving a big speech before battle this time!" Soft laughter passed through his guests. "Uh, anyway. There's someone very special who's come into my life, and I want you all to meet her." With a big grin on his face, he opened one of the doors, and Lucina stepped with a smile. She now wore a white dress flaring at its hem just below her knees with several belts of black and gold around her waist. It was sleeveless and tied around her neck to accommodate her wings. She had a gold brace on her upper right arm and a golden laurel crown nestled in her blue hair.

In her arms, she held a small bundle wrapped in a white blanket close to her chest. Inside the bundle was an infant, a few weeks old with tousled brown hair and fair skin. It yawned and opened its eyes, revealing the same deep blue of Lucina's, and the Brand of the Exalt marked its wrist on its right arm. It looked from Lucina back to Pit, who both smiled proudly, and Pit wiped his eyes.

"Allow me to introduce you all to Aegle," he said brightly. "Our daughter and Skyworld's princess, I guess." A soft applause sounded so not to frighten the infant as she stared at her mother's face and cooed softly.

"And if anyone does anything to her, they'll have to answer to me," Kuro spoke up, and Pit chuckled. He'd never seen his brother more defensive of anyone than his niece.

"She's got a strong history," Nemo pointed out. "I don't think anyone'll be able to trifle with her." He smiled. "Pit, Lucina, congratulations."

"Thank you, Nemo," Lucina replied. "Though I do wish my father could meet her."

"That'd probably just confuse him," Henry laughed. "Considering his daughter isn't much older than she is!"

"I know," Lucina smiled. "But you know what I mean, Henry. But what about you? The Keepers said they were basically erasing us from memory, but you're not from the future."

"People are saying I just sort of broke away from history," he replied. "Even though I'll be around a lot longer than them!"

"Regardless," Pit shrugged. "Aegle, you are going to have a safe and happy life. I'll make sure of it, and I know everyone here wishes you the best." His eyes scanned his companions, who all gestured their agreement in some way or other- even Viridi.

"Just make sure she respects the borders," the goddess of Nature warned, and Pit nodded.

Later on, as the celebration of his daughter's birth continued, Pit slipped outside into the night air and looked up to the stars above. It felt nice to have a moment of solitude to contemplate his family, how his relationship with Lucina had grown over the past couple of years, and Chrom's effort to rebuild below.

"Great party," Kuro remarked as he joined his brother, and stumbled a bit as he came to stand at his side.

"Drinking again, are we?" Pit chuckled, and Kuro shoved him playfully.

"Maybe," he replied. "But don't worry, I'm watching myself. I'd rather not cheese off Viridi like I did last time."

"That'd be preferable," Pit agreed, his smile softening. "I can barely believe I'm a father... Aegle is just... so wonderful."

"And about the cutest thing I've ever seen," Kuro laughed. "You'll have to keep an eye on her when she gets older."

"If you don't," Pit teased. "I'm not worried. She's strong- got the wings and Brand to prove it. She'll be fine."

"I know," Kuro nodded. "But you can play overprotective father for a while, anyway." Pit smiled and shook his head.

"Lord Pit..." a voice echoed, and his smile faded as he looked up. It seemed there was no visible source of the voice, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. It didn't take him long to figure out it was one of the Keepers.

"Milady?" he replied. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"You have brought a beautiful and powerful child into the world," the voice replied. "But know this: Where there is life, there will be death." He blinked.

"Wait, what?" he demanded. "What do you mean?" There was no answer. "Is something going to happen to my child?!" Nothing.

"Well, that broke the fun," Kuro sighed, crossing his arms. "What did that mean?"

"You heard that?"  
"Yep," he nodded. "'Where there is life, there will be death.'"  
"The 'life' has to be Aegle..." Pit frowned. "But... someone's going to die?"

"Don't stew on it too long," his brother advised. "Now isn't the time. And... I don't know why, but I get the feeling you should keep this to yourself right now." Pit nodded slowly.

"Yeah... Come on. Let's head back inside." And they did so, rejoining their companions and friends as Pit tried to push the warning to the back of his mind.

And meanwhile, it seemed something was stirring in the Underworld.

"Oh, yes," the goddess of Calamity smiled darkly. "It's almost time."

"No more of this nonsense!" a theatrical voice agreed, belonging to the god of Death. "None of that blasted prince using me for target practice!"  
"Oh, pipe down," the goddess snapped, and he complied. "I can see why Nemo wants to cut your vocal chords out. Can't you speak in a normal voice?"  
"Er..." he didn't reply.

"Whatever." She shook her head. "But yes... the time is coming. It won't be long now, Master... your return is imminent. And no one, NO ONE, will stand in our way with the power you will wield."

"It's going to be quite a show!" the god laughed.

"Indeed, Thanatos," she nodded. "One that will send Pit sprawling and begging for mercy."

"Are we granting mercy?"

"Like hell we are!" she laughed. "No, I'm going to enjoy breaking his body and destroying his soul until not a remnant remains."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, that's it! The first part of _Across the Bounds of Time _is finally complete and I actually sort of made Lucit a thing. This became the longest fanfiction (word count) that I've written so far.

Of course, being me, I am going to write a sequel titled _End of an Era_. I've been looking forward to this story pretty much since I started AtBoT, so I'll get started on it soon. It will be following more of the Kid Icarus side of things, kind of like how this one is mostly Fire Emblem, but there will be appearances by Awakening cast members (along with Lucina and Henry).

And there will be death. And not just because Henry is involved.

Anyway, I hope you're looking forward to EoaE and I'd love to hear your thoughts on AtBoT, whether it's through review or a message. Thank you for sticking with me, and a special thanks for those of you who came here from OWLD. You guys are awesome.


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